PM Modi looks to push urban infra; stresses on smart cities in tune with 21st century

29 Dec, 2014NEW DELHI Agences : Aiming to improve urban infrastructure and governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting with government officials on the 'Smart City' initiative. The meeting was part of series of consultations on smart cities.PM Modi said, "One of the aims of the smart city initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country."Modi asked officials to identify the basics of infrastructure, quality of life, and citizen-centric services that would be essential to cities of the 21st century. Modi said He also said



cities should be identified as hubs of economic activity. "Focus on "waste to wealth" - i.e. - solid-waste management, and waste-water treatment would be an important part of the development of smart cities," Modi said. He asked officials to visualize "urban-dependent" population, in addition to "urban" population, while planning for smart cities.Modi asked the Ministry of Urban Development to convene a workshop of all central and state Urban Development Authorities at the earliest. He said the workshop should also focus on reforms in laws related to urban development."The Prime Minister called for identifying parameters that could be laid down for