UP awarded the best state award in Smart Cities contest 2020

The Smart City Mission has been operating across India for 6 years now. To mark this occasion, the Ministry of Urban Development virtually organised a contest among the 100 cities that come under this project. On Friday, Uttar Pradesh was announced as the best state as it bagged the first prize in the 'Smart Cities' contest. This is the first time that states are being awarded positions for work done under this Mission and it is hoped that this will encourage the officials to work with more fervour.

Performance of UP cities under different categories

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Under the different segments of Smart Cities awards, many UP cities have performed well. In the second round of cities, almost 100 smart cities had been selected from across India and among them, Agra stood first and Varanasi stood second. Moreover, Agra ranked in third place for the 'Economy Project Award' and in second place for micro skill development centres.

Varanasi was first under the theme 'water' for eco-restoration at Assi and also received 'Innovation Award' for covid innovation. Further, Saharanpur stood first in the smart cities leadership category and Varanasi, along with Maharashtra's Kalyan Dombivli, was awarded second place.

Different cities of UP also performed well in different categories and their achievements have been duly recognised by the state's Urban Development Minister. The Additional Chief Secretary has stated that this year, all smart cities shall focus on improving their physical and financial targets so that UP can stand out as the state with the maximum tally of awards.

Overview of Smart City Mission

The purpose of Smart City Mission is to improve the quality of life of residents by enabling the development of local areas and harnessing technology. 10 cities each were selected during the different rounds of this project of the central government. Lucknow was selected in the first round, Kanpur, Agra and Varanasi in second, Prayagraj, Aligarh and Jhansi in third and Saharanpur, Bareilly and Muradabad in the fourth.