Karimnagar, the epicentre of Telangana statehood movement and the third largest city in the State, was included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Smart City mission programme on Thursday.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had recommended to the Union government the inclusion of Karimnagar town in the Smart City list, instead of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
Mr. Rao represented the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency in 2004, and had promised several sops to the town for supporting the statehood movement since the inception of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
Later, Karimnagar MP B. Vinod Kumar, Mayor of Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar (MCK) S. Ravinder Singh, Commissioner Krishna Bhaskar and others had represented the issue to Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu.
Accordingly, Smart Cities Director Munish Kumar Garg met Karimnagar MP B. Vinod Kumar in New Delhi and announced the inclusion of MCK in the Smart City Challenge programme.
Rs. 2 cr. released
On the occasion, the Centre released Rs. 2 crore for the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). Talking to The Hindu from New Delhi, Mr. Kumar said the Mayor, the Commissioner, corporators, NGOs, citizens and others had to work hard to prepare the DPR. The role of citizens in the preparation of the DPR was very important, he said, and added that the Karimnagar town would be developed on all fronts.
The Mayor, corporators and the municipal officials celebrated the announcement by distributing sweets and bursting crackers.
