Three Uttar Pradesh cities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi have found place in the list of 27 cities for financing under the NDA government’s flagship Smart City Mission, announced today.
Agra and Kanpur are other two cities from the state that goes to polls next year.
Ajmer, Amritsar, Gwalior, Kohima, Kota, Nagpur, Thane, Thanjavur Vadodara and Vadodara have also found place in the list which was announced by Union minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu here on Tuesday.
Five cities have been chosen from Maharashtra, most in any state. Aurangabad, Kalyan-Dombivili, Nagpur, Nashik and Thane have made the cut in the latest list of smart cities.
Four cities from Tamil Nadu- Madurai, Salem, Thanjavur and Vellore- have been selected under the project. Four cities from Karnataka- Tumakauru, Hubli-Dharwad, Shivamoga and Mangaluru - have also been finalised by Centre under the flagship scheme.
As per the Misison guidelines, as many as 40 cities have to be announced during this financial year. As the government had already announced 13 cities in May, a slot of 27 cities remained vacant.
In January, the government had announced a list of 20 cities for partial funding to be developed as smart cities which would have facilities such as assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity and e-governance, among others.
Each city will receive Central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore over the three subsequent financial years.
State governments and respective urban local bodies will also match the Centres contribution.
The Modi-government aims to transform about 100 cities by 2019-20, with the Centre providing financial support of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.
