Maharashtra govt says will need Rs 5,000 cr to develop 10 smart cities

Decides to set up chief secretary-led committee for selection and completion of project report

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Maharashtra expects an investment of Rs 5,000 crore to develop 10 smart cities in the state. The government will soon set up a Chief Secretary Swadhin Kshatriya-led committee to select 10 cities with a population of more than 100,000 in first phase and prepare a detailed project report (DPR). The government has to submit DPR of the proposed 10 smart cities to the Centre by July 31.

The Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil told Business Standard “The selection of cities will be purely demand and reforms driven. The decision in this regard will have to be taken by the people of the city and the urban local bodies. Cities will have to fulfill some key cardinal benchmarks including reforms in the administration, improvement in tax collection including water cess, improvement in water supply and under ground drainage systems and energy management.”  He noted the investment of Rs 5,000 crore is preliminary estimate as the exact number will be possible after DPR is in place.

Patil who accompanied Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in New Delhi on Thursday, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ambitious project of 100 smart cities, said the reforms and competition are the buzz words for the selection of 10 smart cities in the state. Patil said there was no scope of any favours to be granted during the selection and development of smart cities.

A government official said Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Thane, the powerloom town Bhivandi, Jalgaon and Shirdi may fulfil the criteria. However, the official added the competition for selection of cities will be based on points system.  

The state government will indicate resource tie-ups under state level action plans so that it will be entitled for the central funding.