Chandigarh, Panaji, Lucknow among 13 new smart cities

NEW DELHI: Lucknow, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Dharamshala, Agartala and Imphal from six nonBJP states are among the 13 urban centres that were picked up to be

NEW DELHI: Lucknow, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Dharamshala, Agartala and Imphal from six nonBJP states are among the 13 urban centres that were picked up to be developed as smart cities under the Modi government’s ambitious plan for an urban overhaul.

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Four of the 13 cities — Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala, Goa’s Panaji and Imphal in Manipur — go to the polls in 2017. While the Congress is in power in Himachal and Manipur, the Samajwadi Party rules UP. Goa is under BJP rule.

Chandigarh, Faridabad, Raipur, Ranchi, Warangal, and Port Blair are the other cities chosen on Tuesday through a fast-track competition.

Meant to change the way urban India lives, smart cities will enjoy uninterrupted power and water supply, internet connectivity, e-governance along with quality infrastructure.

In January, when the first 20 smart cities were announced, the urban development (UD) ministry had come under fire for leaving out cities from prominent non-NDA states UP, Bihar and West Bengal.