Orissa cuts sorry figure in new smart city list

New Delhi, June 23: Not a single city from Orissa could make it to the new list of smart cities announced by Union Urban Development, Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister Venkaiah Naidu Friday.
The Minister made the announcement for 30 smart cities in the presence of representatives from local bodies which will be funded by the Centre. However, no city from Orissa figured in the new list.
The list comprised cities like Jammu (J&K), Shimla (HP), Dehradun, Allahabad (UP), Jhansi, Patna (Bihar), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), and Gangtok (Sikkim) among others. The minister clarified that he was expected to announce the names of 40 new cities for smart cities in the third round but confined the list to 30 to ensure quality and resources.
Naidu said, ‘‘45 cities took part in the contest for 40 smart slots but only 30 were selected to ensure feasibility and workable plans that match the aspirations of the citizens as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while launching the mission.”
Naidu also hinted that no city was chosen from Orissa in the next 10 smart cities’ list, but 20 cities would contest for the remaining 10 slots under smart city mission.
He also tried to allay apprehensions of Central interference in the smart city scheme. “In the smart city mission, we have tried to reduce the role of Central interference. We have left it to the states to decide on their plan to develop a city. The states need to come to us for once to get approvals.” PNN