Left out in the Smart City race?

Representatives of 23 cities which could not make it to the first list have a chance to submit revised proposals to the Urban Development Ministry by April 15

Representatives of 23 cities, which could not make it to the first list of Smart Cities, will interact with officials of 20 cities which were selected in the competition, to make better proposals for the next round.

The interaction will take place at a day-long workshop being organised by the Urban Development Ministry.

Representatives from one top-ranked city from each of the 23 states and Union Territories which could not win in the first round are participating in the accelerated round of competition, under which they have to submit revised proposals to the Urban Development Ministry by April 15 this year.

“These 23 cities will be advised on how to bridge the identified gaps in their Smart City Plans earlier submitted and evaluated in the first round of competition,” an official release said.

Areas required to be improved include financing plans, convergence of different schemes of central and state governments, smart and frugal solutions and consistency of area development plans, it added.

Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu will also address the representatives of 43 cities.

The 20 smart city winners will also discuss next steps regarding operationalisation of SPVs, project formulation and resource mobilisation.

Experts from the Centre for Science and Environment, the Institute of Spatial Planning and Environment Research, the Indian Institute of Human Settlements, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, among others, will guide the winners and losers on the future steps.

The 23 cities participating in the ‘Fast Track Competition’ include Warangal (Telangana), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), New Town Kolkata, Panaji (Goa), Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Dharamshala, (Himachal Pradesh), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Karnal (Haryana) and Chandigarh.

As per the Smart City Mission Guidelines approved by the Government, only 20 cities were to be selected in the first year and 40 each in the subsequent two years for extending financial support.PTI

A day-long workshop is being organised by the Urban Development Ministry where the representatives will interact with officials of the 20 cities selected in the competition to make better proposals for the next round.