Indore has bagged the best “National Smart City Award” for exemplary performance among the 100 smart cities in the fourth edition since the Central government started the contest. Surat and Agra have emerged as the second and third winners among cities.
The results for the fourth edition of India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC) for 2022 were announced on Friday. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the results for 2021 could not be announced last year.
Read more: IN: Indore tops in Smart City contest, Surat & Agra rank 2nd and 3rd
The total cost of these SCM projects comes to Rs 1,79,228.99 crore, while the initial total estimate was Rs 2.05 lakh crore, of which less than a half would be funded by the governments, and the balance to be mobilized from internal or external sources, and other central government schemes.
Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has envisaged building 100 identified existing and/or new cities in India into smart cities, in its maiden tranche initiated in 2015, and its slowly but steadily making progress.
Read more: Rise of Smart Cities: Urbanization and Economic Transformation in India 2047
Remember the scramble 7-8 years ago after Prime Minister Modi announced the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) in June 2015. More than 18 months were spent in selecting the 100 cities that would make it to the list. City bureaucrats competed with pitches and ministers pulled strings in the Ministry of Urban Affairs. It seemed transformation of the blighted urban landscape was around the corner.
Eight years down the line, the Smart Cities euphoria has waned. It is absent from election promises and in the bragging of ministers. The project was supposed to be completed by June 2021. After two extensions – the last one made in May this year – most of the ‘smart’ cities look much the same.
The trial run of 6 e-buses procured under the smart city project began in Srinagar on Thursday. The trail run of these buses will take place from Lal Chowk to Nishat and will return via Foreshore road today.
CEO, Srinagar Smart City Limited, Athar Aamir Khan said that the trial run of e-buses has been started today.
Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, who is also the minister in charge of Urban Affairs, has defended the NPP-led MDA 2.0 Government over Shillong being named among the 10 worst-performing smart cities in the country.
Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, Dhar denied that the implementation of Smart City projects was poor. He, however, admitted that the implementation of the smart road project is slow since the project is being implemented in a convergence mode with several line departments.
Read more: IN: Meghalaya: ‘Shillong Smart City projects progressing well’