Twenty-three cities with the higher rankings from as many states and Union terrritories, which failed to get representation in the first round of a competition held in January, participated in the ‘Fast Track Competition’, the result of which was announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today. 

Other cities, which won this round, were Chandigarh, Raipur (Chhattisgarh), New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur (Bihar), Panaji (Goa), Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Imphal (Manipur), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Faridabad (Haryana).

“The 13 cities selected in the Fast Track Competition have proposed a total investment of Rs 30,229 crore. With this, the investment proposed by 33 cities (20 cities announced in January and 13 cities today) under the smart city plans is now Rs 80, 789 crore,” Naidu told a press conference. 

Seven capital cities — Patna (Bihar), Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) — which were not included in the 100 cities shortlisted for the competition will be able to participate in the next round with other cities, the minister said. 

And these are the cities that failed to make the cut

Ten cities which didn’t make it to the list were Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Shillong (Meghalaya), Namchi (Sikkim), Diu (Daman & Diu), Oulgaret (Puducherry), Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli), Kohima (Nagaland), Aizawl (Mizoram), Kavaratti (Lakshadweep) and Dehradun (Uttarakhand). These cities would be able to participate in the next round of the competition with other cities. 

What is the Smart City Mission?

• Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation are some of the highlights of the smart city project. 
• Under the Smart City Mission, 100 cities across the country will be developed as smart cities by 2019-20 with the Union government providing financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years. 
• While 20 smart cities were selected during 2015-16 as per the Mission guidelines, another 40 (including 13 today) would be selected during 2016-17 and the remaining 40 during the next financial year. 
• Each city selected in different rounds of competition will be given central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore each during the subsequent three financial years. State governments and respective urban local bodies will provide matching funds to the same amount.