Shimla out, Dharamsala in

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 1

The Centre today issued a list of 100 cities nominated for the smart cities project. While Dharamsala, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar are on the list, Patna, Shimla, Thiruvananthapuram, Gangtok and Bengaluru failed to make the cut.

Uttar Pradesh has bagged maximum 13 nominations. All Union Territories, including Delhi, are also on the list issued by the Ministry for Urban Development.

All nominated cities will now be required to prepare their respective "Smart City Plans". These plans will be evaluated in the second stage of city challenge competition by an apex body of the ministry, an official said.

Based on the second stage evaluation, the top scoring 20 cities among 100 will be extended financial support of Rs 200 crore each during this financial year. In the next two years, 40 cities each will be selected for receiving central funding. Others will be asked to work on the deficiencies identified to be considered again.