Surat may host Smart City Mission’s second anniversary

smart-inner_mThe government’s Smart City Mission is expected to celebrate its second anniversary in Surat next year, a senior Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) official said.

“We got the indications from the central government that Surat may be selected for the celebration of the second year’s function,” the SMC official said.

Surat, which has been shortlisted from Gujarat under the Smart City Mission, is the front runner for this mega event to be held on June 25, 2017.

The port city, known as the economical capital of Gujarat, has been swift in implementing various smart city initiatives. Surat has been allotted Rs 500 crore to make the city smart in five years’ time.

The first anniversary of the mission was celebrated at Pune, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held video conferences with each of the cities selected under the mission.

During this conference, implementation data suggested that Surat tops on many counts. The Central government had announced the Smart City Mission on June 25, 2015 and shortlisted top 20 cities to become a part of the mission. Surat was placed at fourth position in that list.