In the recently released Smart City Rankings by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Agra has been ranked as the Number One Smart City out of the total 100 cities. The rankings have been given based on the development works carried under the Smart City Mission in the 100 smart cities.
Rank 1 for Agra, leaving behind cites like Surat and Indore which had been the domain leaders, came as a surprise to the entire nation.
The residents of Agra are of the view that the American President, Donald Trump’s visit may have raised the city’s score. However, they also say that the sanitation issues, garbage on streets, overflowing drains are still a problem.
As reported by a national daily, it seems that the ranking may have pleased the civic officials and the state government, but, residents are skeptical of the fact as the urban issues people faced still persist.
However, the Ministry has cleared that the ranking is been based on the development works undertaken and the pace of implementation of development plans in the city under the centre’s mission.
The civic officials said, the work done by the Agra Smart City Ltd such as Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), healthcare centres, smart toilets, micro skill centres, and more, have been the deciding factor for Agra to lead in the Smart City rankings.
Naveen Jain, Mayor of Agra said that the credit for the ace rank of Agra goes to the efforts by the Agra Smart City officials, Municipal Corporation officials, and the Municipal Commissioner, Arun Prakash (2005-Batch).
The civic authorities will work better to hold onto the rank and maintain the position for years to come, Jain added.
