The work on as many as 261 projects worth Rs 31,112 crore in 60 cities will commence from November this year. The projects are aimed at bringing about "a visible and transformative impact on the lives of citizens".
These projects were announced during January-September, 2016 in identified smart cities and range from building 40 outdoor fitness centres in New Delhi Municipal Council area at a cost of Rs 1.31 crore to redevelopment of a 340-acre area in Bhopal at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore.
The decision was taken during Prime Minister Narendra Modi-chaired 21st meeting of Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) on August 30. The PM has directed all Chief Secretaries to maintain quality and global standards of these projects under smart cities mission.
Similarly, States and UTs have also been asked to speed up work on 370 public private partnership (PPP) projects with an investment of Rs 32,410 crore. Till now, about 79 projects worth Rs 941 crore have been completed and another 204 projects worth Rs 7,963 crore are at advanced stage.
Some of the major smart city projects are: Bhubaneswar (Affordable housing - Rs 840 crore), Raipur (Urban Plaza at Ganj Mandi — Rs 983 crore), Bilaspur (Markets development — Rs 1,241 crore), Amritsar (Urban space development — Rs 1,028 crore), Coimbattore (Water supply -Rs 557 crore), Warangal, Telangana (Bus stand - Rs 611 crore), Shimla (Tourism and recreation infrastructure- Rs 898 crore), Aligarh (Smart multi-level parking — Rs 289 crore), Bengaluru (Tourism and recreation infrastructure - Rs 234 crore) and Pune (Electrical buses - Rs 170 crore).
The other projects include Talkatora lake Development with high quality laser show in Jaipur (worth Rs 130 crore); River Front Development and Heritage City museum in Pune (worth Rs 235 crore), Intermodal Transport Hub and Slum Rehabilitation in Ahmedabad (worth Rs 961 crore) , River Front Development and Green development of Institutional Zone in Jabalpur (worth Rs 310 crore), beach Redevelopment and Shore Protection in Vizag (worth Rs 365 crore), Rejuvenation of Siddheshwar lake and Heritage structures in Solapur (worth Rs 49 crore), Rejuvenation of Mandakki Bhatti in Devanagere (worth Rs 373 crore).
To expedite the project, the HUA is also planning to give incentives to states and UTs for faster completion of smart city projects in its bid to motivate the local governments to expedite works. The Centre has already selected 90 cities under the ambitious smart city scheme and has approved projects worth Rs 1.91 lakh crore. The incentive amount will be about 2 percent of the cost of all projects.
A day after the meeting, Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra wrote to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories to expedite projects selected under smart cities mission and to ensure do well in the ranking of the city liveability index.