Govt releases list of 98 smart cities, maximum from UP
New Delhi, 27 Aug 2015: The government, on Thursday announced the list of 98 cities nominated for the Smart City Mission, saying a population of 13 crore across these cities will be covered under the initiative.
"There are 13 cities from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Tamil Nadu, 10 from Maharashtra, seven from Madhya Pradesh, three each from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh included in the list," Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu told media persons at an interaction in Delhi.
"Smart cities need smart people. We need people’s cooperation to move forward in our mission," he added.
"Smart cities will have the core infrastructure and will give a quality and decent life to citizens. It will enable a clean environment and provide smart solutions to problems," he further said.
The central government proposes to give financial support to the extent of Rs.48,000 crore to these cities over the next five years, Naidu said.
"Around 13 crore population across 98 cities will be covered under the Smart City Mission. Making them smart will make them engines of economic growth besides giving decent life to the citizens," he said.
Nine capital cities that were not nominated for the mission include Itanagar, Patna, Shimla, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
The minister said the prime motive of the initiative was to enhance urban life. "The mission is very practical and realistic," he added.