Hyderabad, June 10 (INN): Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on Wednesday met Urban Development Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi and held wide ranging discussions on various urban development and housing schemes being launched by the central government.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu enquired about the broad contours of the Smart Cities and AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) and the criteria for selection of cities to be included under these two missions. Venkaiah Naidu explained that each state would be assigned a specific number of cities and towns to be nominated by respective states based on the urban population and number of cities and towns in each state for inclusion in Smart Cities Mission. Under AMRUT, cities and towns each with a population of one lakh and above will be selected for addressing infrastructure gaps.
Chandrababu Naidu emphasized that further to bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh needs special consideration and support in its developmental efforts. He said that as per the norms, more areas in the State would be notified as urban areas to benefit from the central government's initiatives.
Venkaiah Naidu also informed the Chief Minister of the initiative of his Ministry to enable submission of applications online for construction of individual household toilets by the beneficiaries besides online monitoring of the progress. The Chief Minister said that he will instruct the concerned officials to take advantage of this online mechanism for speedy implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in the state.
In a separate meeting, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought continued support to the schemes that were launched under the erstwhile Jawaharlal Nehru Renewal Mission. Shri Venkaiah Naidu explained that those schemes sanctioned during 2005-12 and reported progress of more than 50% would continue to get central support. The Schemes sanctioned during 2012-14 and were released first instalment would be supported till 2017 and the remaining need to be submitted again under the new AMRUT and States are given the liberty of prioritizing and sanctioning them.
Venkaiah Naidu informed the Karnataka Chief Minister that his Ministry has agreed to the request of the State Government for providing 15 acres of surplus land available with the Government of India Text Book Press at Mysore for construction of Deputy Commissioner's Office Complex. Naidu handed over a copy of the Order issued in this regard to the Chief Minister. Shri Siddaramaiah thanked Shri Naidu for his support in this regard.
The implementation strategy for making identified cities Smart was also discussed. The Karnataka Chief Minister was informed that if Bengaluru is to be made Smart, Smart City Plan could be formulated for the entire city and based on the ability to mobilise resources required, plans could also be made for the needy parts of the city as well.
Venkaiah Naidu discussed implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with the Chief Ministers and urged them to personally monitor implementation construction of toilets to meet the targets.
