Venkaiah Naidu Releases Names of 20 Smart Cities to Be Developed

Venkaiah Naidu, however, says there is no time frame yet to finish these projects.

Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu while announcing the list of smart cities. (Photo: PTI)

Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday announced the first batch of 20 cities to be developed as smart cities in India.

<p>Implementation of smart cities plan will showcase integrated planning. The investment of Rs 50,802 crores has been proposed in selected smart cities and towns during the five-year period. </p>

<b>Venkaiah Naidu, Urban Development Minister</b>

In total, 40 cities are set to become smart cities. Here are the first 20:

• Bhubaneswar (Odisha)
  
• Pune (Maharashtra)
  
• Jaipur (Rajasthan)
  
• Surat (Gujarat)
  
• Kochi (Kerala)
  
• Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
  
• Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)
  
• Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
  
• Sholapur (Maharashtra)
  
• Davangere (Karnataka)
  
• Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
  
• New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC, Delhi)
  
• Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
  
• Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh)
  
• Belagavi (Karnataka)
  
• Udaipur (Rajasthan)
  
• Guwahati (Assam)
  
• Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
  
• Ludhiana (Punjab)
  
• Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
  

List of 20 cities being released. (Photo: ANI)

Naidu said there is no time frame as such to finish these developments. These cities were chosen from 98 cities shortlisted for the ‘Smart Cities Mission’.

“These 20 cities will be the first to receive funds, hence kickstarting the process of developing them into ‘smart cities’. The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities more,” Naidu said at a press conference in New Delhi.

<p>In terms of population, these 20 cities account for 3.54 crore people. A total investment of Rs.50,802 crore has been proposed in the selected smart cities and towns during the five-year period. Bottom-up approach has been the key planning principle under Smart City Mission. </p>

<b>Venkaiah Naidu, Urban Development Minister</b>

Naidu added, “Smart cities need to be inclusive, sustainable and effective engines of growth, fulfilling the aspiration of Young India.”