Indore named best city, MP best state in Smart Cities Mission

The cities were selected based on their ranking in terms of progress of projects, project outcomes and presentations submitted for the awards.

“Congratulations to Madhya Pradesh for receiving the ‘Best State Award’ at #ISACAwards2022! 7 cities of the state are developing multi-sectoral 779 projects worth ₹15,696 cr which are already providing Ease of Living to the citizens,” Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri posted on X.

Indore has topped the cleanliness rankings under the Swachh Bharat Mission, being named the cleanest city for the past six years in a row. Madhya Pradesh, too, won the tag of the cleanest state in the Swachh Survekshan 2022. In the Smart Cities awards, Indore had shared the first place with Surat last time.

In the Smart Cities Awards 2022, Coimbatore’s project of model roads, restoration and renovation of lakes was ranked the best in the category of built environment, while Jabalpur won the award for its incubation centre in the economy category. Chandigarh’s public bike sharing and e-governance services won in the mobility and governance categories, respectively. Chandigarh also won the overall award in the Union Territory category.

Under the Smart Cities Mission, which was launched in 2015, the 100 selected cities have completed 76% of the proposed projects worth Rs.1.10 lakh crore, while the remaining projects worth Rs.60,095 crore “will be completed by 30 June 2024”, a ministry statement said.

Earlier this year, the mission’s deadline was extended from June 30 to next year to allow all 100 cities to complete their projects.

“Most notable milestone achieved in the mission has been the Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC), which is operational in all 100 Smart Cities. These ICCCs work as the brain and nervous system for city operations, using technology for urban management. The urban services have significantly improved in diverse fields like crime tracking, safety and security of citizens, transport management, solid waste management, water supply, disaster management etc.,” the ministry said.