Cabinet clears 100 smart cities project

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to the 100 smart cities project.

According to PTI, apart from approving these 100 smart cities, old housing projects initiated by the previous Government were also cleared at a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

‘Smart City’ is an initiative by Modi to take the pressure off metros. Ahead of the electionsin May last year, he had promised 100 smart cities by 2022 to help meet the rush. In its Budget, the Government had allocated about Rs 6000 crore for development of these smart cities.

Earlier this month, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu had said that the Cabinet nod for smart cities can be expected soon. He had said that the Expenditure Finance Committee had cleared the proposal and the Cabinet nod was needed.

With the Cabinet approval now in, the project is expected to be rolled out from next month.