The list of last set of cities to be made smart under its flagship 100 Smart City scheme was released on Friday. From this region, Jammu and Srinagar from Jammu and Kashmir, Shimla from Himachal Pradesh and Karnal from Haryana got their names mentioned in the list

Shimla: The list of last set of cities to be made smart under its flagship 100 Smart City scheme was released on Friday. From this region, Jammu and Srinagar from Jammu and Kashmir, Shimla from Himachal Pradesh and Karnal from Haryana got their names mentioned in the list.

“A total of 45 cities contested for 40 available smart city slots but only 30 were selected to ensure feasible and workable plans that match the aspirations of the citizens as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” urban development and housing minister M Venkaiah Naidu said while announcing the new batch of smart cities at a National Workshop on Urban Transformation in New Delhi.

After failing to get mentioned in first two lists, Shimla was also listed in the charter of the smart city.

In the second List, Shimla lost to Dharamshala following the war of words between Congress and BJP blaming each other for the exclusion of capital town from the list.

Earlier, the state panel had approved and submitted ?2,906crore plan to the Centre with Shimla municipal corporation taking feedback of around 1 lakh people, who sought a solution to public transport issues.

“It is our gift to the people of Shimla,” said Shimla’s former deputy mayor Tikender Singh Panwar.

Chief minister Virbhadra Singh said added priority will be given to develop eco-tourism, adventure-sports activities and alternative modes of transportation.