Smart City plan by January end: Naidu

Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu said the project plan for the Centre’s proposed 100 smart cities would be ready by January end and the coming budget would make provisions for a detailed project report (DPR) and provide viability gap funding for interested investors.

“We will be coming out with the final touches of the document by the end of the month. I am planning to call a meeting of all the secretaries of Urban Development of different States to have a consultation. After that I will be going to the Parliament and the smart city plan will be launched. Smart cities can be built only through PPP model, because it requires lakhs of crores of rupees. The government alone cannot invest in it. Last budget mentioned the concept of smart cities. DPR budget will meet the provision and then will give viability gap funding [for investors],” said Mr. Naidu during the sidelines of a seminar on smart cities at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015.

Identification of smart cities would be done after the completion of the consultation process with State government and urban local bodies.

Ordinance

Mr. Naidu called for the Opposition’s support on the ordinances related to coal, insurance and land acquisition.  

“There is no politics involved in passing the ordinances. Many consultations have taken place. The Congress got the Insurance Bill. We wanted some changes to it. Now it is stuck at the Rajya Sabha. We got the ordinances as they are important for investment. The land acquisition ordinance is pro-farmers and in the interest of the country. Hope the Opposition too thinks seriously about them and supports us when the Parliament session begins. There is no problem in opposing the ordinance, but the Opposition should let the Parliament function. Debate, discuss, decide but in the end dispose the Bill. I hope our Opposition friends understand the mandate of the people. We brought the ordinances keeping in mind the need for development and there are a number of precedents since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. There were instances where ordinances were issued. We have issued ordinances for a people’s cause,” he said.