The bustling historic cities of UP have failed to make the cut. Neither PM’s Parliamentary constituency, Varanasi nor the Home Minister Rahnath Singh’s lucknow were able to make it to the first list of 20 cities to be developed as Smart Cities.
“The news has come as a shocker for us. We were expecting at least two UP cities in the first list. It is unfortunate that we failed to meet the mark set up Government of India,” a senior official told ‘The Pioneer’ in lucknow on Thursday.
The Union government released the first list of 20 cities to be developed as Smart Cities. It includes: Bhuvneshwar, Pune, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Ahmedbad, Jabalpur, Vishakhapatanam, Solapur, Davengiri, Dhaval Giri (Karnataka), New Delhi, Indore, Coimbatore, Belgam, Udaipur, Guahati, ludhiana, Chennai and Bhopal.
The official said that while the Centre has declared that 13 cities of UP would be developed as Smart Cities, but no one finding a place in the first list was a rude shock.
Political parties quickly pounced the oppurtunity to hammer the BJP government at the Centre.
Senior Congress leader Mahroof Khan said that PM Narendra Modi had promised to develop Varanasi on the lines of Kyoto. “What happened IJ Has the plan been shelved, he should tell the people,” he said.
SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said that the BJP is full of rhetoric and is very low on translating words into action. “We are developing cities from our own resources. The Metro is coming to lucknow and soon work will start in Varanasi and Kanpur,” he said.
Officials in Urban development department however blame poor infrastructure in the cities as the core issue for neglecting UP cities. “You take the city of lucknow - illegal colonies have mushroomed and the development has been haphazard. Condition of roads is very bad and local agencies have failed to remove encroachments,” he said.
“Besides, the cities have failed to manage its solid waste and the Sewerage Treatment Plant has also failed to take shape,” he said adding that UP has also failed to make a mark in e-governance.