Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli will be among the 10 cities from Maharashtra that will be developed as smart cities under Centre-sponsored schemes. The cities will have to go through different stages of competition to ensure funds from the Centre.
“A high-power committee has selected Navi Mumbai, Pune-Pimpri Chinchwad, Nashik, Thane, Mumbai, Amravati, Solapur, Nagpur, Kalyan-Dombivli and Aurangabad,“ CM Devendra Fadnavis told the legislative assembly on Friday .
The evaluation criteria for the first stage of competition within the state included increased service levels, operational online grievance redressal system, publication of at least a monthly e-newsletter and online publication of municipal budget expenditure for the last two fiscals. The Centre has plans to spend Rs 48,000 crore on improving 100 cities as smart cities of India after selecting them for various schemes and projects through phase-wise competitions.
In the second stage of the competition, the 20 top scorers will be chosen for financing during the new financial year. “The remaining would be asked to make up the deficiencies identified by the ministry of urban development for participation in the next two rounds of competition,“ sources said.The proposal-level evaluations will include terms of benefits to the poor, extent of employment generation, articulation of quantifiable outcomes based on citizen consultations, impact on environment, application of smart solutions for doing more with less of resources and IT interventions to improve public service delivery .
What this means
Smart cities will receive funding to boost core infrastructure, including water, power, sanitation, transport, housing and digital connectivity . They are also expected to push for e-governance and cleaner environmental standards. Such urban centres aim to use information technology for a more efficient delivery of civic services.
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