‘TN moving to second stage of Smart Cities plan’

Centre to release list of 40 more cities by end of the month

CHENNAI : 01-09-2016 : Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu (center) interacts with Higher Education MHRD Secretary Vinay Sheel Oberai (left) and IIT Madras Director Baskar Ramamurthy (right) at the Engineers Conclave 2016 held at IIT Madras in Chennai. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

Since Tamil Nadu “is one of the good performing States” the State is moving to the second stage of the Smart cities plan in the coming weeks, said Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.

At the inauguration of the three-day engineers’ conclave at the Indian Institute of Technology–Madras, Mr. Naidu said his Ministry would release a list of 40 more cities selected for the programme by month-end. The Ministry is also expected to add more cities to the heritage city list.

Mr. Naidu said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had sought heritage status for Srirangam town, but refused to divulge details about which cities had made the cut to the smart cities list or to the heritage list.

“Officials are scrutinising the final parameter competition. The cities are measured on various parameters and there is a competition among urban local bodies to garner funds to improve the cities,” he said, adding, the selection was based on the local body’s ability to come up with feasible smart solutions.

He gave the example of Hyderabad, which, by digitising records, had increased its revenue from Rs. 765 crore to Rs.1,035 crore, without increasing taxes.

The 14th Planning Commission had approved Rs. 78,293 crore for 33 smart cities and this helped to incentivise performance of the cities. This year, good performers could expect Rs. 400 crore from the Central government, he added.

Mr. Naidu urged engineers to come up with novel ideas to rejuvenate cities, pointing out that lack of attention to infrastructure had led to flooding of Chennai, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Encroachment problem

“In Chennai, during my visit to flood-affected areas, everyone was talking about encroachments. The present and former Chief Ministers have come up with good, innovating housing schemes to relocate people living along the Cooum banks. As Urban Development Minister, I am concerned with the situation in all the cities. Engineers may come up with good plans, but if politicians do not implement them or if they do not remove the encroachment, no plan will succeed,” he said.