A total of 40 cities will be selected in the second phase of Smart Cities Mission, which is likely to be announced by June, the Government has told the Rajya Sabha.
In the first round of the Mission in January, 20 cities have already been selected . The list includes Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bhopal and NDMC area of Delhi.
“The results of the next phase is expected to be announced by May/June,” M Venkaiah Naidu, Urban Development Minister told the House.
The smart cities project focuses on assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation.
The government has decided to develop 98 cities across the country as smart cities under the Smart Cities Mission by 2019-20. The Union Government is providing financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years, on an average Rs 100 crore per city per year for five years.
The state/urban local bodies are instructed to contribute an equal amount and the balance funds would be mobilised through various sources such as public private partnership and municipal bonds.
Around 54 cities, including Varanasi, Nagpur, Muzaffarpur,Ghaziabad, Agra, Kanpur, Kota and Gandhinagar will compete to find a place in the second list of 40 cities for the smart city projects.
