Dehradun makes the cut in the 98 smart city list released by the government
Uttar Pradesh leads the list with 13 cities selected for Smart City development, Tamil Nadu in second place with 12.
Dehradun, the state capital of Uttarakhand has been shortlisted along with 97 other cities from the country to be developed as Smart City. It is also the only city from the state that made the cut. The government on Thursday finally declared its plans to convert 98 Indian cities into Smart Cities. While Uttar Pradesh gets most of them, nine state capitals including poll-bound Bihar’s Patna, are missing from the list. Uttar Pradesh got 13, Tamil Nadu 12, Maharashtra 10, Madhya Pradesh seven, Gujarat and Karnataka six each, and Andhra Pradesh and Bihar get three each. All Union Territories, including Delhi, have found place in the list.
In the first phase, Centre will pick 20 cities and in the next two years 40 cities each will be selected for receiving Central funding of Rs 500 crore spread over the next five years. Each smart city would get a Central assistance of Rs 100 crore per year for five years.
While Uttar Pradesh has bagged the maximum number of smart cities projects at 13, Tamil Nadu has got 12 and Maharashtra 10. Madhya Pradesh will have seven smart cities and Gujarat and Karnataka will have six each. The Uttar Pradesh government has been asked to decide between Rae Bareli and Meerut as the 99th Smart City. The Jammu and Kashmir government had proposed two cities – Jammu and Srinagar – instead of one, so the 100th city is yet to be chosen.
“Smart Cities need smart people. We need people’s co-operation to move forward in our mission. Our prime motive is to enhance urban life. The mission is very practical and realistic,” Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said as he made the announcement. Smart cities will boast of features like variety of transport options; citizen-friendly governance; smart solutions for infrastructure and services.