Smart Cities Awards 2020: Surat, Indore Receive Best Cities Crown, UP Wins In State Category

The Central has announced the India Smart City Awards (ISAC) 2020 on 25 June in which Indore and Surat were declared joint winners, while Chandigarh topping the Union territories list. According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, Uttar Pradesh achieved the top position in the state awards category, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The awards were given to mark the sixth anniversary of the central government’s three urban development initiatives which are Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) and Atal Mission for Urban Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

The awards were given based on social elements, governance, culture, urban environment, sanitation, economy, built environment, water and urban mobility, among other things. Additional criteria for the awards included a viable business model for Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC) and innovation in coronavirus pandemic management for the health crisis year.

According to the ministry, Indore won the "Innovative Idea Award", while the 'Smart Cities Leadership Award' went to Ahmedabad, with Varanasi and Ranchi coming in second and third, respectively. Surat—which has been named the best city for the second year in a row—Indore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Vijayawada, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Vadodara are the top nine performing cities, each receiving a four-star rating.

As per Hindustan Times, a ministry official said: “It showed good physical and financial progress in some cities such as Agra, Varanasi, Lucknow, Prayagraj. Uttar Pradesh was also able to complete the transfer of state supporting funds to cities... Lucknow and Ghaziabad also issued municipal bonds last year, becoming the first cities in North India to do so, in a Covid year.”

While addressing Indore, the ministry said it has been a leader among smart cities in recent years, continuously ranking among the top cities in the year 2020. “The city is implementing projects worth Rs 5,099.6 crores under the Smart Cities Mission... The smart city has made visible gains in a timebound manner,” it added.

In the case of Surat’s ranking, the ministry said that the city has changed its focus to employing technology for operational improvements after achieving some success in providing basic urban infrastructure and services to its inhabitants.

According to the ministry, as of now 5,924 projects totalling Rs 1,78,500 crore have been bid under the Smart Cities Mission, with 2,665 projects worth 45,080 crore having been entirely completed and work orders for 5,236 projects costing Rs 1,46,125 crore have been issued.

It was also said that around 1.12 crore dwellings have been sanctioned for PMAY (Urban) beneficiaries, of which over 83 lakh have been grounded and more than 50 lakh have been completed. Additionally, the statement from the ministry added that AMRUT and other initiatives have so far delivered approximately 105 lakh household tap water connections and 78 lakh sewer or septage connections.