Four UP cities in top 10, Agra No. 1
LUCKNOW: In a first, four cities in Uttar Pradesh figured in the country’s top ten smart cities with Agra ranked no 1 in the nationwide list, state’s urban development minister Ashutosh Tandon ‘Gopal’ said on Saturday.
Last year, only Kanpur, had managed to find a place in the country’s top ten.
Barring Jhansi in Bundelkhand, which slipped from its 65th rank in 2019 to 82 and Kanpur which slipped by a spot to be ranked third this time, all the remaining nine smart cities in the state have improved in the rankings released by the union ministry of housing and urban affairs, the minister said.
Agra, ranked 12 last year, has emerged on top among the 100 smart cities while Kanpur, which was second last year, has ranked third this time. Varanasi that had featured in 13th position last year has been ranked seventh this time.
Prayagraj, which was ranked 24th last time, has been ranked 10th this time. Lucknow, which was ranked 42nd last year, has improved by several notches in the rankings to be rated 24th . while Aligarh has improved marginally – from 55th spot to 54th. Saharanpur was ranked 79, this time it’s at 68th spot. Bareilly has remained at its last year’s spot of 88 while Moradabad that was at the bottom of the heap last time is now ranked 96th.
The latest rankings pertain to smart city projects initiated in these cities and people’s perception of them from October 1, 2019 to March 1, 2020, officials said.
Government schemes, their utility for the people, people’s participation or involvement and effective implementation of schemes form the core of the smart city rankings, the minister explained.
“The Agra smart city team did a great job in micro-skill development centre, PPP-based Smart Health Center and self-cleaning toilet projects among others,” the minister said.
“In Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi and Prayagraj schemes relating to Integrated Command and Control Centers have been initiated which in keeping with chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s focus is helping build smart and safe cities,” minister said. “It’s true that lot needs to be done still. For instance, Jhansi, Moradabad, Saharanpur and Bareilly still need to come up. Along with the government, people’s push is also required in making our cities top class,” he said.