US keen to help in developing three smart cities

Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday said that consultations would be expedited with the US which has expressed interest in assisting in the development of Visakhapatnam, Ajmer and Allahabad as smart cities.

Naidu made this observation after a meeting here with the visiting United States Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman, the urban development ministry said in a statement. The two discussed investment opportunities in India's urban development sector, it added.

Naidu told Froman that the focus in smart cities will be on improving the quality of life through better physical, social and economic infrastructure, besides substantially reorienting urban governance in identified cities through e-governance and service delivery, the release said.

With increasing urbanisation, as well as pressure on rural land, the government has recently announced a plan for creating 100 smart cities that can cope with emerging urban challenges and also be magnets for investment.