Government set to announce 14 more smart cities

New Delhi, May 20 (KNN) The Government is ready to announce another 13 to 14 cities in a couple of days taking the total number to 34 that will be financed in the first round under the Smart City Mission, a flagship initiative of the government of India. 

Speaking at the Confederation of India Industry (CII) Smart City Investors Meet on Thursday in the capital, Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah Naidu said “We will announce the next set of cities in one or two days and these will be included in the first set of cities that will receive the first tranche of funding”. 

Emphasizing on the role of the private sector in the development of smart cities and urbanizing India, Naidu said that there is an urgent need to involve the private sector and bring in their expertise and technology to meet the aspirations of the citizens in these cities. 

The minister further said that there is a move towards stability at the states as well which will augur well for the developmental initiatives. Emphasizing on how the Union Government has established transparency by reducing human intervention in the delivery mechanism, the minister said “This government is on a mission; a mission without commission is the new version of GOI.” Talking on how this is being from the top, Mr Naidu said Prime Minister Modi’s name stands for Making of Developed India, a dream that this government is committed to.

Elaborating on the new and innovate financing means that cities will be adapting, the minister said that cities are looking at monetizing land assets, introduction of user charges and tax incentive financing. “Citizens have paid and are willing to pay user charges as long as they get assured and quality services and this would be the biggest ask from the service and solution providers,” he said.

The global interest in India’s smart city mission was on display in the investors’ meet which was attended by ambassadors of the US, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the High Commissioner of UK among others. The day long convention brought together diverse stakeholders from solution providers to city corporate’s, policy makers and foreign investors.(KNN Bureau)