To apply balm on Bengaluru, Mysuru and Kalaburagi, which were not included in the Centre’s smart cities project, the Karnataka government has readied an ambitious plan to develop the three cities on lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship project.
Supposedly a knee-jerk reaction, the government is likely to give the project a different name. “We are likely to call it as heritage project considering the heritage and reputation of these three cities,” said Karnataka urban development minister Vinay Kumar Sorake.
He said they are ready with the proposal and would place it before the cabinet next week for its consideration.
Sorake said the state government is contemplating spending Rs 1,000 crore on each city over the next five years. “We have decided to earmark Rs 200 crore for each city in the budget every year,” he added.
Under the Smart City Mission of the Centre, Rs 1,000 crore will be spent on each city over a period of five years. The Centre and State will share the cost equally.
Urban development department secretary TK Anil Kumar said the state government has decided to adopt the same guidelines framed by the Centre for its smart cities project.
Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), which is the nodal agency for development of six cities (Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Davanagere and Tumakuru) selected by the Centre, will also oversee the development of Bengaluru, Mysuru and Kalaburagi.
“It won’t burden the state exchequer much as we have been already funding all major city corporations every year. Now we will ensure the funds are utilized exclusively for the smart city project that involves overall development of the city ,” Sorake said.
Citing the example of Bengaluru, he said the Siddaramaiah government has been granting Rs 1,000 crore every year to BBMP and that out of this, Rs 200 crore would be earmarked for the smart city project.
