Smarter Cities To Get Additional Grant From Centre

Names of 100 Smart Cities have been announced, and the stage is set to kick-start the work. Now is the time for these cities to implement the best practices in various parameters that would ensure these cities are truly smart. Some of the best practices will be rewarded and facilitated with more funds.

The reward

To bring forth the best practices and to make the competition stronger, the Central government has announced a reward of Rs 800 crore. This reward has been set in place for the cities that come up with the most innovative and effective projects. Fifteen such projects will be selected that excel in four criteria areas, including sustainable mobility, public open spaces, urban governance and organisational innovation in low-income settlements. 

The grant will be provided by French lending agency, AFD, for this three-year programme. The agency will provide 100 million Euros for the 15 projects as grant. The repayment of the grant’s principle and interest would be shared equally by the Central and state governments. This would mean that each project could get a grant ranging between Rs 20 crore-Rs 80 crore. 

The division 

The cities that have been selected have prioritised certain infrastructure and services that would be turned smart. On an average the selected cities are planning to invest 16.6 per cent of their funds to develop smart urban transport system, followed by 15 per cent investment in area and 12.7 per cent for economic development. With 10.1 per cent and 9.5 per cent, energy and IT solutions follow, respectively.

However, things that are of the concern to many cities across India right now were seen at the end of the priority list of smart cities. For instance, while solid waste management witnessed a share of 2.4 per cent of the investment, environment was given a 2.6 per cent weightage. The lowest share has been kept for safety (1.8 per cent).

All these cities are expected to make an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore. So, whereas about Rs 33,000 crore has been set aside for urban transport, only Rs 4,896 crore has been set aside for solid waste management.

Fresh perspective

To further facilitate these investments and ensure that these are put to their best use, the Central government has announced a fellowship and internship programme. This would not only accelerate the Smart Cities Mission but will also provide jobs and livelihood to the large youth population we have today. This, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, will provide the youth an opportunity to experience various aspects of urban planning and governance.

Under the fellowship programmes, 30 graduates, postgraduates and Ph.D-holders would be engaged in the fields of urban planning, urban design, engineering, information and technology, urban mobility, finance, social sector, and environmental issues for a period of one to three years.