Bhubaneswar tops the smart city challenge
Here are the 20 cities named in the first list –
| Bhubaneswar | Pune | Jaipur | Surat | Kochi |
| Ahmedabad | Jabalpur | Visakhapatnam | Solapur | Davanagere |
| Indore | New Delhi | Coimbatore | Kakinada | Belgaum |
| Udaipur | Guwahati | Chennai | Ludhiana | Bhopal |
M Venkaiah Naidu , the Urban development minister on 28 January Thursday announced the first list of 20 cities to be developed as Smart Cities. It’s a pride for every Odia to know Bhubaneswar topping the list and Pune and Jaipur coming in second and third respectively.
Surat, Kochi and Ahmedabad are among the other cities.The above listed cities will be developed to have basic infrastructure through assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation.
The states selected cities and sent us a list of A list of 97 cities from various states were selected & there was a competition among these names from which 20 cities have been selected .
In the subsequent years, the government will announce 40 cities each to be developed as smart cities as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to develop 100 smart cities in the country. The government plans to build these smart cities by 2022 to help accommodate its swelling urban population, which is set to rise by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050.
The cities are competing on a variety of matrices, including urban reforms and their plan of action in four key areas —
> Swachh Bharat
> Make in India
> Good governance (modern accounting system , Rationalization of property taxes)
> e-governance.
According to M Venkaiah Naidu , the Urban development minister a total of 15.20 million (1.52 crore) citizens had participated in the preparation of the ambitious Smart City plans at various stages.Some sent their ideas to city officials via Twitter, Facebook or SMS. Others entered local contests for designing logos or writing essays.
Bhubaneswar unfurled a 10-kilometer-long canvas banner across the city and invited residents to scroll down their suggestions.Many of the proposals mentioned a need for better transportation, sewage treatment or trash management.
The Centre and states will equally split the overall cost of the project estimated at Rs 96,000 crore. The central government will provide on an average Rs. 100 crore per chosen city per year. The project cost of each smart city will vary depending upon the level of ambition, model, capacity to execute and repay.
Also Read : Famous Twin Cities in Indian States , 100 Smart City Project has 5 cities from Odisha
