Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday an urban renaissance will take place in the country through the government's Smart Cities Mission.
Speaking at the BW Smart Cities Conclave in New Delhi, he said the project is on track and the government will learn from experiences while executing various schemes.
Naidu said the proposed smart cities will have to take care of the environmental in implementing urban development projects.
In the last two-and-a-half years, the hierarchy of decision-making and approvals has been cut and smart governance has taken over, the minister said.
"Smart cities need smart people to govern and implement, it can't happen overnight," he said, adding that smooth project operation depends on cooperation of various stakeholders.
To ensure effective decision-making, the government has come up with special purpose vehicles to run projects, Naidu added.
The minister said his ministry is making urban development programs and projects a people's movement rather than a political movement.
Looking back at the government's achievements, he said major urban project initiated in 2015 are now on the verge of completion.
"We have seen new launches of infrastructure and housing projects, the Swachh Bharat Mission is picking up momentum," he said.
"The upcoming smart cities will work as lighthouses for the entire country and smart cities need smart leadership," the minister said.
In order to have transparency and enhance the ease of doing business, Naidu said the government is doing making efforts to make everything simpler and digitisation is the key to achieve that aim.
BW Reporters
The author is a journalist with BW Businessworld. He primarily covers Retail, Media & Entertainment and Travel & Tourism sectors
