Shillong, known as the ‘Scotland of India’ has been declared as the 100th smart city of India by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The city will receive funding under the Smart Cities Mission after proper execution of the proposal submitted by it.
This ambitious initiative had been launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015. With this, the number of cities to be developed as smart cities has reached the 100 mark.
According to the reports, followed by the selection of Shillong as the smart city, the total proposed investment for all the finally selected 100 smart cities would be around Rs 2,05,018 crores. Under the programme, every city will get Rs 500 crore from the Centre for the implementation of various projects such as strengthening urban infrastructure, rejuvenation of water bodies, building cycle tracks, walking paths, smart classrooms, smart roads, skill development centres, upgradation of health facilities and pan-city projects.
“Till now, 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition and with today’s announcement, selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission,” an official release said.
The government had selected 20 cities in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and nine cities in January 2018 and now with the selection of Shillong, the number has reached 100.
Smart cities are determined to modify the way urban India lives. The selection of smart cities is based on the scores cities get for carrying out urban reforms in areas including sanitation and governance. Smart cities have smooth power and water supplies, internet connectivity, e-governance along with quality infrastructure.