(Online Desk)

Rae Bareli, constituency of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, which has so far failed to make it to the list of smart cities may be the part of flagship ‘Smart City’ project of the Centre.

Ministry of urban affairs has started the survey work by a consultancy firm in the UP city so that it could be included in the final list of Smart Cities which will be announced soon.

Sources with the ministry of urban affairs said that survey to find the availability of land and other resources in the city has already begun in Rae Bareli and the consultancy firm has to submit the report by November 30 so that further process could start soon. “Availability of land and other urban facilities like transport, schools, water, electricity and other things have been sought from local authorities to prepare a report,” added the official.

The Smart City Mission was launched by the Modi government in June 2015 with the aim of transforming 100 Indian cities by 2019-20. The Centre provides Rs 500 crore to each city over a period of five years for implementing various projects.

Each state has been given a fixed number of cities to nominate for the flagship urban mission, with UP getting the largest quota of 13 cities. Cities including state capital Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Agra, Jhansi, Allahabad and Aligarh have already been selected from the State under the Smart City development plan. Name of Rae Bareli was sent first by the Samajwadi party led UP government in the year 2015, however, it could not qualify in the first and second lists of selected cities.

Under Smart City Mission, 90 cities have so far been identified through three rounds of competition for implementing smart city plans. A total investment of Rs 1.91 lakh cr has been proposed by these 90 cities. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is closely monitoring progress of 261 impactful projects with an investment of Rs.31,000 cr and another 370 PPP projects with an investment of about Rs.32,000 cr.

The first batch of 20 smart cities was announced in January last year, followed by another 13 through Fast Track Competition in May last year, 27 cities in September last year and another 30 cities in June this year.

Under the Smart City Mission, there is a provision of affordable homes, basic infrastructure facilities, 24×7 power and water supply, adequate educational options, modern security facility, means of sports and entertainment, schools and hospitals.

Centre has also directed the States and union territories to ensure commencement of work by November this year on 261 impactful smart city projects in 60 cities that were announced during January- September, 2016. These identified projects accounts for an investment of Rs 31,112crore.