The Narendra Modi government has decided to encourage people’s participation in its flagship smart city mission with a design contest for cities picked for the project. The best suggestion wins Rs 1 lakh.
Prime Minister Modi will launch the open competition in Pune on June 25, the first anniversary of the mission, in which residents can suggest ways to make the project better. Also, he is expected to launch a string of projects worth more than Rs 7,000 crore that will be implemented by 20 cities selected in January, the scheme’s first phase. The projects fall under four broad components — improvement; renewal; extension, meaning greenery development; and a pan-city initiative.
As part of the “Make Your City Smart” contest, residents of cities chosen for the project will be asked to design their city the way they would like it to be and the administration will incorporate the suggestions. “The competition is open for each of the 20 smart cities. The idea is to get the residents involved in planning the city’s infrastructure, what they want, how they visualise their smart city…” an official said.
The government has called for people’s suggestions earlier too, when selecting the cities for the project. The Union urban development ministry, which is piloting the mission, had sought feedback from citizens through online platforms on how to develop their cities. The government selected 20 cities in January and 13 more were picked in May. Each of these will be given Rs 500 crore by the Centre over five years. The states in which these cities are located will make a matching contribution.
The plan is to build 100 smart cities by 2022 complete with internet connectivity, quality infrastructure such as waste management and efficient public transport. Most cities in the country are bursting at the seams because of influx from the countryside and lack basic infrastructure.
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