Urban Ministry devises smart city plan for top 20 to help bottom 20

News: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has adopted a 20-20 formula to implement Smart Cities Mission.

Facts:

About 20-20 plan

• 20 best performing cities (according to internal rankings) have been paired up with the 20 bottom cities and they will work as “sister cities”. The pairing has been done on the basis of culture and region.
• The pair of sister cities will have to sign an MoU before February 20 to ensure expeditious execution of projects and report compliance to the Smart Cities Mission Directorate
• Sister Cities will undertake a 100-day challenge from the day of its announcement to enhance the ranks and performance of the bottom 20 cities.

Additional Information

Smart Cities Mission:

• It was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs.
• Aim: to develop 100 smart cities across the country by 2022 making them citizen-friendly and sustainable.
• Objective: To promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions