Mysore/Mysuru: Contrary to the claims made by politicians, Parliamentarians and Ministers that Mysuru will get the Smart City project, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has clarified that Mysuru will not be included in the Smart City project.
In a communiqué to the State Government, the Ministry has stated that at this juncture there is no proposal to include any city in the country under the Smart City Mission. Instead, financial assistance will be given to different development projects undertaken by various City Corporations, the Ministry has stated.
Mysuru had missed out an opportunity of development while seven other cities in Karnataka like Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Belagavi, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Hubballi-Dharwad and Mangaluru were seeing large-scale development.
Smart City is a unique programme that has been implemented in the country for the first time. It was conceived soon after Modi Government took office in May 2014 and it was announced in June 2015. The idea was to use technology to introduce ease of living and inclusive and sustainable development.
The Centre’s communication was disclosed to the media yesterday by Karnataka Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj. In fact, after missing out on the Smart City project due to a procedural lapse though Mysuru was well eligible to qualify for the project, elected representatives and Ministers tried their best to convince the Centre to include Mysuru in the mega project.
Mysuru lost out as it did not fully utilise the 80 percent of JnNURM funds. Also, the Mysuru City Corporation failed to do a local audit from 2007 and this deprived the city of a slot under Smart Cities Mission.
This post was published on April 29, 2022 6:44 pm