UP officials asked to expedite 'Smart City' project

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday directed officials to begin work on the selected cities under the 'Smart City' project of the union government.

Chief Secretary Rajeev Kumar held a meeting on Smart Cities of the state and asked officials of the selected cities - Lucknow, Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi, Jhansi, Aligarh and Allahabad - "to concretize the road map" and ensure that the work under different levels is completed by May 31, 2018.

It was also discussed in the meeting that apart from the selected cities, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Rampur, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Meerut and Rae Bareli be included in the fourth round selection competition for Smart Cities and the consent should be send to the Central government.

Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Manoj Kumar Singh has told that Lucknow was selected in the fast track round by the Central Government in an All-India Smart City Competition and Agra, Kanpur and Bareilly in the second phase, Jhansi, Aligarh and Allahabad selected in the third.

Singh also said at the meeting that the main object of Smart City scheme is to provide economical development for the betterment of the citizens and to develop e-governance and citizen services, waste management, water management, energy management, urban mobility with the help of information and technology.

--IANS

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