Appealing to expatriate Indians to join hands in the development of urban infrastructure Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu said that investment to the tune of $1200 billion will be needed to develop urban infrastructure.
The Government of India is building 100 smart cities and development process of 500 cities and towns are going on said Naidu, adding that Swachchh Bharat Mission in urban areas, rejuvenation of cities of cultural heritage, construction of over 20 million low cost and affordable houses and skill development projects would require mammoth investment in the sector.
Speaking at the Plenary Session on 'Opportunities in India' at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas programme at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, the Urban Development Minister said that domestic and foreign private investments will be the main sources of investments for new urban initiatives.
He said that about Rs60 lakh crore ($950 billion) investments would be required for providing urban infrastructure across the country and as Operation & Maintenance costs of urban utilities over the next 20 years. About Rs45,000 cr ($7.50 billion) private investment in Clean India initiative in urban areas besides another Rs15 lakh crore ($ 238 billion) in ensuring housing for all is also required.
Giving details of various urban initiatives, Naidu informed that 12 cities with rich cultural heritage assets would be taken for development of core heritage areas and making them more tourist friendly with all services and facilities. The cities identified under HRIDAY (Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana) include: Amritsar, Ajmer, Gaya, Mathura, Varanasi, Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh), Warangal(Telangana), Badami (Karnataka), Kanchipuram and Vellankini (Tamilnadu), Dwaraka (Gujarat) and Puri (Odisha).
He said that the mission Government of India is 'Resurgent India' and various initiatives are being taken to improve investment in climate and the 'ease of doing business' in the country. He pointed out that 'the sentiment within and outside the country has changed significantly after Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister and the country is firmly on the path of recovery.