Pinning high hopes on its two ambitious flagships —100 Smart Cities and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) — which are all set to take off next month, the Modi Government on Thursday said a minimum investment of Rs2 lakh crore is expected to be flown in over the next five years for the development of urban areas in the country.
Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said half of this amount will come in from the States and local bodies. The Union Cabinet had on Wednesday approved the Smart Cities project and the urban renewal mission with a total outlay of about Rs1 lakh crore.
“A minimum investment of over Rs2 lakh crore would flow into urban areas over the next five years since States and local bodies would mobilise matching resources ranging from 50-66 per cent,” Naidu said while delivering the keynote address in a session at ‘National leadership Conclave’ organised by All India Management Association.
He said the initiative would help make the urban life comfortable given the large-scale migration taking place from rural areas. “Urbanisation is a reality and you can’t reverse it. People are migrating from rural areas because of five needs, education, entertainment, employment, economic opportunities and enhanced healthcare, which are mostly concentrated in urban areas. So we have to make urban life comfortable and liveable and useful to people...,” Naidu said.
“We have to think in terms of rejuvenation of our urban areas and bring back the governance,” he said adding that “the smart cities are the flavour of the season. To make smart cities you need smart leadership.” “While a number of countries have expressed interest in developing the cities, no plan would be made without people participation and consent,” he added. In addition, substantial private investments would be mobilised by states and urban local bodies through PPP model is required to meet the project costs, he added.