Smart city plan likely to focus on Tier 1 cities: 10 things to know about PM Modi's pet project

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects — 100 smart cities spread across the country — and a new urban renewal mission named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, replacing the existing one named after Jawaharlal Nehru, with a total outlay of Rs 98,000 crore for the next five years.

The move is expected to recast the urban landscape of the country to make them more livable and inclusive. The smart cities project was announced in July 2014 in the Union Budget. Countries such as Singapore, Japan, France and the United States have shown interest in partnering with India on this project.

"Unchecked migration from rural areas with very little civic infrastructure towards urban agglomerations has continued to be the biggest challenge for the country. This has further added to the woes of urban clusters which could not plan for the ever burgeoning influx. The basic idea of spreading development across 500 cities makes it an unique concept towards a bottom up approach,Gulam Zia, Executive Director, Knight Frank India told Firstpost.

While the Smart Cities Mission will get an outlay of Rs 48,000 crore, the AMRUT mission will received Rs 50,000 crore over the next five years. In comparison, the central outlay for nine years of the JNNURM mission was Rs 42,900 crore.

1. City challenge competition: Each Smart City aspirant will be selected through a 'City Challenge Competition' intended to link financing with the ability of the cities to perform to achieve the mission objectives. Each state will shortlist a certain number of smart city aspirants as per the norms to be indicated and they will prepare smart city proposals for further evaluation for extending central support. According to a report in the Business Standard, only about 20 cities are likely to be shortlisted in the first phase.
2. Selected city will get Rs 100 crore a year for 5 years from the govt: Each selected city under the scheme would get Central assistance of Rs 100 crore a year for five years. The remaining money has to come from the states, urban bodies and the consortium that they form with corporate entities. The mission aims to release funds depending on multi-pronged progress of the projects and makes citizen participation an integral part of the planning of these cities. Central assistance will be to the extent of 50 percent of project cost for cities and towns with a population of up to 10 lakh and one-third of the project cost for those with a population of above 10 lakh.
3. All states will get at least one smart city: A Special Purpose Vehicle will be created for each city to implement Smart City action plan. The SPV will be signed with the urban local body, state government and the Centre for implementation of the project.
4. Smart Cities Council India has been formed to promote development of smart cities in the country. It is part of the US-based Smart Cities Council, which is a consortium of smart city practitioners and experts, with a 100-plus member and advisor organizations operating in over 140 countries.

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