Smart city slot for Shillong kept on hold due to polls: Govt

The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has kept on hold the 100th or the final slot of smart cities mission for Shillong, which was recently selected for its inclusion in the scheme, as the city is yet to submit its proposal due to elections in Meghalaya, an official said.
"The 100th slot is kept on hold for Shillong. It is yet to submit the proposal. They are busy in the election. It is expected that the city will submit the proposal after the elections," the ministry official said.
Meghalaya goes to poll on February 27.
The number of cities selected under the project stands at 99. Under the scheme, each city will get Rs 500 crore from the Centre for implementing various projects.

An equal amount, on matching basis, will have to be contributed by the state or urban local bodies.
The 100 Smart Cities Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015.

As on January, 189 projects worth Rs 2,237 crore have been completed, while another 2,948 projects worth Rs 1.38 lakh crore are in various stages of implementation.
Under the mission, the cities proposed to take up various project, including "smart" roads, rejuvenation of water bodies, cycle tracks, walking paths, smart classrooms, skill development centres, upgradation of health facilities and pan city projects like integrated command control centre.

In January 2016, 20 cities were announced under the Smart Cities Mission, followed by 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016 and 30 cities in June 2017 and nine cities in January this year.
It had kept the slot for the tenth city, Shillong, vacant as it could not submit its proposal on time.