Smart City Mission may be failed
Smart City Mission may be failed
New Delhi,10 December: Centre may fund only 10 cities, instead of the proposed 20, in the first year. Government is getting ready to scale down the size and speed of its signature Smart City Mission. December 15 is the cut-off date to be eligible for the Centre’s funds. A few months ago the Cabinet had cleared Rs 50,000 crore for the project and another Rs 48,000 crore for AMRUT (another city rejuvenation plan) — both schemes were part of the election plank of NDA last year. Sources said that most BJP-ruled states are ready with their city development plans. According to an official in the urban development ministry the states that are expected to submit “quality” proposals by the due date include Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.The cities which could make it to the first list include Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Vizag, Jaipur, Udaipur, Surat, Bhopal and NDMC area of Delhi. Of the 100 cities (98 have been shortlisted till now), 20 were scheduled to get funding in 2015-16. The Centre would spend Rs 500 crore on each city, in phases, while the remaining amount is to come from states, urban bodies and private partners.
