Daijiworld Media Network
Mangaluru/New Delhi, Aug 27: In a happy news for all Mangalureans and people of the coastal region of Karnataka, the Modi-led central government has chosen Mangaluru as among the 98 cities to be upgraded to Smart Cities.
The list of cities was announced by the union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday August 27.
Naidu said that Rs 2 crore would be released soon to prepare the blueprint for the Smart City project. In the next five years, Rs 100 crore would be released every year for each of the cities. Altogether, the project is being undertaken at a cost of Rs 48,000 crore, he said.
He further said that the "prime motive behind the smart city project is to enhance urban life".
Also, the state government too will release Rs 100 crore annually for the next five years for each of the cities selected for the project.
There were 13 parameters set by the ministry which included existing service level, past track record reforms, implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewal mission scheme and self-financing capacity among others.
Six cities had been nominated from Karnataka state and all have been chosen. They are, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Shivamogga, Tumakuru and Davanagere. These cities secured the highest scores in the competition, with Mangaluru topping the list with 96.88 percent.
Of those chosen for the project, 24 are capital cities, 24 are business hubs and 18 are cultural centres. Cities like Patna, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Shimla have failed to make the cut in round one.
In the next five years, Rs 3 lac crore will be spent in developing the towns to provide world class infrastructure, sustainable environment and smart solutions.
Uttar Pradesh will have the highest number of smart cities (13) followed by Tamil Nadu (12), Maharashtra (10), Madhya Pradesh (7) and Karnataka and Gujarat 6 each. Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh each will have three smart cities.
Speaking to daijiworld, mayor Jacintha Alfred welcomed the decision and said, "It is a great news for us, but officially we have not received any information about it. Mangaluru will become famous and developmental projects will increase, and so also the budget. More companies will come to invest here."
MLA of Mangaluru South J R Lobo thanked the people who were responsible for it, including the city corporation which prepared the important report, district administration and all the elected representative. "With Rs 100 crore each year, the city would develop at a fast pace providing all opportunities to grow in all spheres. Mangaluru is blessed with port, road, rail and flight connectivity. We should be able to make the best of it to meet the demands of the people," he said.
Full List:
*Jammu & Kashmir has asked for more time to decide on the potential Smart City.
**12 Cities have been shortlisted from Uttar Pradesh against 13 cities allocated to that State.