Panaji prepares to pitch once more for smart city tag

Goa capital Panaji, which failed to make the first cut of 20 smart cities as announced by the union urban development ministry on Thursday, will throw its hat in the ring again.

In a statement issued here, Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues said a reworked proposal would be sent for participation in the "fast track round of the competition".

"The ministry also announced a fast track round of competition to give one more opportunity to the top ranking cities who didn't make it into the top 20, to upgrade their smart city proposals and submit them by April 15, 2016. Post a review, 23 cities will be selected. We will also look closely and study the proposals of the cities which made it to the list," Rodrigues said.

Over the last several months, officials of the CCP along with guidance from the state government were in the process of working out a proposal in a bid to seek a place in the list of 20 smart cities announced by the union ministry headed by Venkaiah Naidu.

Naidu also said that over Rs.50,000 crore in investments has been proposed to be spent on the selected 20 smart cities over the next five years, for improving their infrastructure and amenities.