Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg Monday
announced a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Urban
Development Ministry to advance the government's ambitious smart cities
initiative.
Under
the partnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide funds and other
assistance to Urban Development Ministry to implement the Smart Cities project
in select cities.
The
announcement was made after Bloomberg's meeting with Modi.
"The
Prime Minister described the Smart Cities Initiative as a challenging task,
which nevertheless has to be undertaken to improve the quality of life for
India's urban citizens with stakeholder's participation," a government
release said.
The
Smart Cities Initiative is aimed to promote economic growth, improve
governance, and deliver more effective and efficient public services to India's
urban residents.
"Bloomberg
Philanthropies will provide assistance to the Ministry of Urban Development to
select cities for Smart Cities Mission funding on a continuous basis," the
release said.
It
said "This approach is different from the conventional approach, which
involved preparation of Detailed Project Reports, and their appraisal and
approval by the central government.
"It
will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both
in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualise the idea
of cooperative and competitive federalism."
Earlier,
Bloomberg met Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and discussed various
urban development issues including the Smart City project. Source: igovernment.in
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