14 more cities in 1st round of Smart Cities Mission
Aamir H Kaki
The government is set to announce 14 more cities in a few days under the Smart City Mission, taking the total number of cities to 34 that will be financed in the first round, the Urban Development Ministry said.
“There are 20 cities that have already been selected. We are going to announce another 13-14 cities shortly which will receive finance in the first set of funding,” M Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation told a gathering at the CII Smart City Investors Meet on Thursday in New Delhi.
Naidu emphasised on the private sector participation in the development of smart cities and urbanising India. “It is important to involve the private players and to bring in their technology and expertise in order to meet the ambitions of the people in these cities,” he said.
“There are lots of opportunities for private players - domestic as well as international, as 20 cities selected under the Smart Cities mission in the first round would require investments of more than $7 billion,” he added.
Stressing on how the Government has created transparency in the delivery mechanism by reducing human interference, the minister said, “This government is on a mission – “mission without commission. We have created online infrastructure to bring in more transparency in delivering schemes and to reduce human intervention.”
To attract international business community and foreign investment, Naidu said, “Ease of doing business is a priority for the government. We are setting up single window clearance mechanism for clearing business proposals.”
On the adoption of financing modes for these smart cities, Naidu said that cities are looking at monetising land assets, introducing the user charges and financing through tax incentives.
He also urged for the public participation in government schemes and said that no scheme will be successful without the participation of the citizens.
The minister said that participation of states is crucial in the implementation stages and to make the Smart Cities Mission a success.
He further said the government is considering the recommendation of 14th finance commission to transfer 42 percent funds to the states.
Speaking at event, Rajiv Gauba, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, said that a unique feature of the entire mission of Smart City is about the participation of citizens.
“About 14 million people across India have participated in the smart cities proposal and this needs to be built upon even when proposals are implemented,” he said.
“Smart Cities project will not only improve the standards of the people but also serve as a generator of economic growth,” the secretary added.
to success.