Addressing mayors of BJP ruled urban bodies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a holistic approach to plan cities and urban spaces.
Addressing mayors of BJP ruled urban bodies in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that urban development cannot be done with just a single approach of winning elections. He lamented that decisions beneficial for cities are often not taken for fear that such decisions can lead to losing an election.
He said representatives must not become election-centric and should instead focus on developing satellite towns, and proper urban planning with basic infrastructure like roads, streetlights, and water and sewerage systems. Modi also emphasised on infrastructure development of tier two and tier three cities that can help decrease the burden on big cities with large populations.
As many as 118 Mayors and Deputy Mayors of BJP-ruled urban local bodies from 18 States and Union Territories are participating in the two-day conference being held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Talking about creating urban infrastructure for mass transport, the prime minister said a mere 250 kilometres metro rail network in 2014 has now expanded to more than 750 kilometres while work is on for another 1,000 kilometres.
The government is developing 100 smart cities across the country and projects worth 75,000 crore rupees have been completed so far.
The government has so far allotted 1.25 crore houses to the poor under the PM Awas Yojna (Urban). The budget for housing projects has been increased from Rs. 20,000 crores in 2014 to 2 lakh crore rupees, he said.
Image: All India Radio
