Projects worth over INR 10,000 crore are on track to become operational in the 10 smart cities of Uttar Pradesh (UP) within the next few months. To meet the objectives outlined under the Smart City Mission, the state government recently reviewed the progress of the urban development department. Out of the total 542 infrastructure projects sponsored by the Central and state governments, valued at INR 10,124 crore, 343 projects have already been commissioned, utilising funds amounting to INR 4,757 crore. To expedite completion, senior officials in the Chief Minister’s office instructed the department to fast-track the remaining 199 projects.
The 10 smart cities in UP include Lucknow, Agra, Bareli, Varanasi, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Aligarh, Kanpur and Jhansi. Within the coming months, these cities will witness the operationalisation of integrated command and control centres and intelligent traffic management systems (ITMS). During the review, it was noted that Agra and Varanasi have successfully completed the highest number of projects and have also been recognised as the cleanest cities by a senior government official.
The smart city objectives encompass improvement in water supply, power infrastructure, sewerage systems, solid waste management, public transportation, parking facilities, streetlights, digitisation, and security measures, among other aspects. The Yogi Adityanath-led government has initiated a cloud-based smart city digital monitoring system with a budget of INR 28 crore to monitor the progress of the 10 cities.
In addition to the 10 cities already covered under the smart city mission, the state government has decided to implement ITMS in seven more cities, namely Ayodhya, Firozabad, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Mathura-Vrindavan, Meerut and Shahjahanpur.
