New Delhi: The government on Thursday announced that six capital cities — Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Bhopal and Bhuwaneshwar — will be among the first 20 cities to be developed as 'Smart Cities' as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream project.
A 'Smart City' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents.
The project is launched with a motive to benefit everybody, including citizens, businesses, government and environment. In a 'Smart City', economic development and activity is sustainable and rationally incremental by virtue of being based on success-oriented market drivers such as supply and demand.
According to government's Smart Cities website, the core infrastructure in a smart city would include:
- Adequate water supply
- Assured electricity supply
- Sanitation, including solid waste management
- Efficient urban mobility and public transport
- Affordable housing, especially for the poor
- Robust IT connectivity and digitalisation
- Good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation
- Sustainable environment
- Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
- Health and education
(Photo: smartcities.gov.in)
Here is the first list of 20 Smart Cities:
Bhubaneswar, Pune, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur. Visakhapatnam, Solapur, Davangere, Indore, New Delhi Municipal Council, Coimbatore, Kakinada, Belgaum, Udaipur, Guwahati, Chennai, Ludhiana and Bhopal.
