At least 100 cities have been selected to be developed as smart cities through a two-stage national competition, said Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs on Tuesday.

According to a report by NDTV,  a meeting of the consultative committee of the Ministry of housing and urban affairs was held on Tuesday where the agenda was ‘Smart Cities Mission’. Puri chaired the meeting.

Briefing about the Smart Cities Mission, Puri said that the main objective of the Mission, launched on June 25, 2021, is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.

“The mission aims to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city. 100 cities have been selected to be developed as smart cities through a two-stage National competition,” Puri said, as per the news report.

What is the Smart Cities Mission?

Under the scheme, the central government will provide financial support to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over five years i.e. on an average Rs. 100 crores per city per year and an equal amount of matching basis is to be provided by the State/Urban Local Bodies (ULB).

The overall progress of the Smart Cities Mission has shown a great momentum in execution. Emphasis has been given on the participation of the private sector through public private partnerships. 

Since the launch of the Mission, a total of Rs. 27,234 crores have been released by the Government of India to 100 cities under the Mission. 

Puri also informed that the Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC) in the smart cities were being used as COVID-19 war rooms and have played an important role in managing the crises.