Indore has been named the best Smart City in the latest edition of the Smart Cities Mission Awards.
Additionally, Madhya Pradesh has been recognised as the top-performing state.
Surat and Agra have secured the second and third positions respectively among cities in the India Smart Cities Award Contest (ISAC), 2022.
In the state category, Tamil Nadu has claimed the second spot, followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Chandigarh has been honoured with the award for the best Union Territory in the ISAC awards for 2022.
These awards, organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, were announced on Friday (25 August) as part of the Smart Cities Mission.
President Droupadi Murmu will present the awards on 27 September in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, reports The Hindu.
The ISAC awards are now in their fourth edition. Previous editions took place in 2018, 2019, and 2020. The 2022 edition was launched in April of last year at the ‘Smart Cities-Smart Urbanization’ event in Surat.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were no awards given in 2021.
The ISAC aims to recognise and reward cities, projects, and innovative ideas that promote sustainable development across the 100 smart cities. It also seeks to foster inclusive, equitable, safe, healthy, and collaborative cities that enhance the overall quality of life for all residents.
The ISAC 2022 award had a two-stage submission process. The first stage, known as the ‘Qualifying Stage’, involved an overall assessment of the city’s performance. The second stage, called the ‘Proposal Stage’, required smart cities to submit their nominations for six award categories.
For ISAC 2022, a total of 845 nominations were received from 80 qualifying smart cities. Out of these, 66 final winners have been identified across various categories.
Launched on 25 June 2015, the Smart Cities Mission aims to improve the lives of citizens by providing core infrastructure, promoting a clean and sustainable environment, and ensuring a decent quality of life through the implementation of smart solutions.
According to an official statement, the Smart Cities Mission has made significant progress.
Of the total proposed projects under SCM, 6,041 projects worth Rs 1,10,635 crore have already been completed. The remaining 1,894 projects worth Rs 60,095 crore are expected to be completed by 30 June 2024.
The projects undertaken by the 100 Smart Cities cover a wide range of sectors including mobility, energy, water, sanitation, solid waste management, public spaces, social infrastructure, and smart governance.