Friday, Mar 29, 2024 | Last Update : 05:03 PM IST

  India   Seven capitals to be in next round

Seven capitals to be in next round

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : May 25, 2016, 2:30 am IST
Updated : May 25, 2016, 2:30 am IST

Seven state capitals — Patna (Bihar), Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Thiruvananthapuram (Ker

CHANDRABHAGA RIVER BETTER.jpg
 CHANDRABHAGA RIVER BETTER.jpg

Seven state capitals — Patna (Bihar), Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) — that were not included in the 100 cities shortlisted for the competition — will be able to participate in the next round with other cities, the minister said, adding, “Also, one out of Meerut and Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and another out of Jammu and Srinagar in J&K would also be selected for evaluation under the mission.”

Lucknow is in Samajwadi Party-ruled UP which will go to the polls next year, while Bhagalpur is in Bihar, where the JD(U), RJD and Congress are ruling coalition allies. Warangal, in Telangana, is ruled by Telangana Rashtra Samithi. New Town Kolkata in West Bengal, where the Trinamul Congress came back to power in the recent Assembly elections, and Agartala in CPI(M)-ruled Tripura, were also selected for the smart city project.

Apart from these, the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were among the winners of this round.

Cities that failed to make the cut will be able to participate in the next round of the competition with other cities.

Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity and e-governance are some of the highlights of the smart city project.

Each selected city will be given Central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore each in the subsequent three financial years.

State governments and respective urban local bodies will provide matching funds. The remaining 67 cities will be selected in this and the next financial year.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi