Releasing the results of India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020, the Union Government on Friday said that Uttar Pradesh has won the highest performance and won states award, among all the Indian states in the rankings given by the Central Smart Cities Mission project, followed by Madhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said, Among the cities, Indore and Surat were declared joint winners, with Chandigarh ranked first among the Union territories.
The awards were announced on Friday to commemorate six years of three initiatives by the central government to promote civic dignity: the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), the Atal Mission for Urban Rehabilitation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Pardhan. Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).
The government has reached this ranking based on several parameters; such as social aspects, governance, culture, urban environment, hygiene, economy, built environment, water, urban mobility.
For epidemic years, addtional parameters of the Sustainable Business Model of the Integrated Command and Control Centers and Innovation in the Management of Covid-19 were also counted among the awards.
According to officials aware with the matter, UP won the Best State Award for transforming 7 more cities out of 10 existing cities into smart cities; (Ayodhya, Mathura, Meerut, Shahjahanpur, Ferozabad, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad).
A ministry official said on condition of anonymity: “It has shown good physical and financial development in some cities like Agra, Varanasi, Lucknow, Prayagraj. UP also managed to complete the transfer of state supporting funds to cities … Lucknow and Ghaziabad also issued municipal bonds last year, becoming the first cities in northern India to do so, in a single Covid year”.
Surat has been declared the best city for the second year in a row, while the previous rankings did not include the categories of Best State and Covid-19 Administration.
Union Housing Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri said in an online program on Friday: “The competition is an opportunity for smart cities to showcase their cutting-edge, impactful projects and for us to recognize and learn their best practices. This year’s best tips are on integration in governance through the use of command and control centers or in response to Covid 19, to increase the safety and security of citizens, intelligent traffic management, modern use of open spaces, enhancement of urban environment, innovation in improvement are In urban mobility, smart water management, waste energy generation and many more.”
The Union Ministry noted Indore’s consistent top performance in the list, saying in a statement: “Indoor has been at the forefront of smart cities in the last year and has been consistently prominent in the top ranked cities in the year of 2020. The city is implementing projects worth ₹5,099.6 crores under the Smart Cities Mission … Smart City has made significant gains over time manner.”
Regarding Surat’s ranking, it said: “After achieving a certain degree of success in providing essential urban infrastructure and services to the citizens, Surat has focused on the towards use of technology for operational improvement. “
The Ministry of Urban Affairs on Friday also emphasized the importance of cities across India in using the Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCCs) as war rooms for the Covid-19 administration. So far, 69 cities in India have deployed these ICCs under the Smart Cities Mission and these are being developed in all 100 Smart Cities.
Agartala, Indore and Vadodara have been ranked the best for the ICCC’s Sustainable Business Model.
According to ministry data, 5,924 projects worth ₹ 1,78,500 crore have been tendered and 2,665 projects worth ₹ 45,080 crore have been fully completed so far, under the present Smart Cities Mission.
