New Delhi, June 21: The selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission, with Shillong being the latest one to be added to the list. Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya has been selected as 100th Smart City after evaluating the proposal submitted by it. Till now, a total of 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition.

With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores. Previously, 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and 9 cities in January 2018.

Meanwhile, Gujarat’s Surat has bagged the award for ‘great momentum’ in the implementation of Smart City projects for showing the implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development. Nine awards in three categories including Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award have been announced under the India Smart Cities Awards, which was launched on June 25, 2017 by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister.

Under ‘India Smart Cities Award’ 2018, Bhopal and Ahmedabad were selected in the ‘Innovative Idea’ category for their “transformative approach towards sustainable integrated development, while nine smart cities, including NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council), bagged ‘Project’ awards for innovative and successful projects in seven categories”, it added.

The objective of the Smart Cities Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions’. The focus is on the sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.

The Smart Cities Mission of the Government is a bold, new initiative. It is meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City, catalysing the creation of similar Smart Cities in various regions and parts of the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2018 04:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).