First 20 Smart Cities | Smart Cities in India

Govt announces first 20 smart cities; Bhubaneswar, Pune, Jaipur top 3

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Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday announced the first list of 20 cities to be developed as Smart Cities, with Bhubaneswar topping the list and Pune and Jaipur coming in second and third respectively.

The others on the list include Surat, Kochi and Ahmedabad.

These cities will be developed to have basic infrastructure through assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation.

“The states selected cities and sent us a list of 97 names. There was a competition among these names and 20 cities have been selected,” Naidu told a news conference. “Bottom up approach has been the key planning principle under Smart City Mission,” he said.

“The Smart City Challenge Competition was as rigorous and demanding as the civil services competition conducted,” Naidu quipped.

Here is the complete list of the cities:

1. Bhubaneswar
2. Pune
3. Jaipur
4. Surat
5. Kochi
6.Ahmedabad
7.Jabalpur
8.Visakhapatnam
9.Solapur
10 Davanagere
11. Indore
12. New Delhi
13. Coimbatore
14. Kakinada
15. Belgaum
16. Udaipur
17. Guwahati
18. Chennai
19. Ludhiana
20. Bhopal

In the subsequent years, the government will announce 40 cities each to be developed as smart cities as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to develop 100 smart cities in the country.

The government plans to build these smart cities by 2022 to help accommodate its swelling urban population, which is set to rise by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050.

The cities are competing on a variety of matrices, including urban reforms and their plan of action in four key areas -- Swachh Bharat, Make in India, good governance (modern accounting system, rationalisation of property taxes) and e-governance.

The Centre and states will equally split the overall cost of the project estimated at Rs 96,000 crore. The central government will provide on an average Rs. 100 crore per chosen city per year. The project cost of each smart city will vary depending upon the level of ambition, model, capacity to execute and repay.

Raising funds is the key challenge as also is developing older cities with limited scope to overhaul. Heavily populated areas may need complete rebuilding which will then involve temporarily rehabilitating people and, in some cases, acquiring land.

A smart guide to smart cities

India plans to build 100 so-called smart cities by 2022 to help accommodate its swelling urban population, which is set to rise by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050. Here is a ready reckoner on the futuristic project, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big-ticket ideas to propel India into the league of developed nations.

What is a smart city?

The term broadly denotes an urban area that provides world-class, sustainable infrastructure to give a decent quality of life to its citizens. Infrastructure will include uninterrupted clean water and power supply, gleaming roads, high-speed internet, automated waste disposal, sustainable public transport, affordable housing and digitised public services.

How does a city qualify?

The central government wants to cover 100 cities by 2020. Cities will compete on a variety of matrices, including urban reforms and their plan of action in four key areas -- Swachh Bharat, Make in India, making governance citizen friendly and cost effective (intelligent transport system, rationalisation of property taxes) and e-governance. Competing cities will offer ideas on city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development). In addition to these three, potential smart cities would also have to give a pan city initiative in which smart solutions are applied covering large parts of the city. Of the 100 potential cities, 20 have been selected this year followed by 40 cities in 2017 and the remaining 40 cities in 2018.

Who pays?

The Centre and states will equally split the overall cost of the project estimated at Rs 96,000 crore. The central government will provide on an average Rs. 100 crore per chosen city per year. The project cost of each smart city will vary depending upon the level of ambition, model, capacity to execute and repay.

What are the hurdles?

Raising funds is the key challenge as also is developing older cities with limited scope to overhaul. Heavily populated areas may need complete rebuilding which will then involve temporarily rehabilitating people and, in some cases, acquiring land.