Smart City should come up in consultation with people: Venkaiah

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said that a ‘Smart City’ is what the citizens want their places to be and the city-level plans should be evolved based on extensive consultations with them.

Smart City Plans will be evaluated in the second stage of City Challenge competition based on such consultations and <g data-gr-id="17">their</g> economic and environmental impacts, Naidu said. He was addressing a Smart City regional workshop held here for ten northern states and Gujarat to discuss various aspects of preparation of the Plans and related issues.

Mayors and civic chairpersons and municipal commissioners from cities included in Smart City Mission and Principal Secretaries of Urban Development from these states, besides, representatives of domestic and global technical agencies and consultants and multi-lateral lending agencies attended the workshop. 

Responding to the comments of UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, Naidu said that the contours of smart city plans will be defined by the citizens and the plans will reflect their aspirations.