Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu today said that the two new major initiatives in the urban sector viz., development of Smart Cities and the New Urban Development Mission for 500 cities will take off next month. He said so while speaking at a Symposium on Smart Cities here today.

The government’s much awaited ‘smart cities’ initiative will roll out in a month’s time, Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said here on Monday.

The Minister said the two new major initiatives of the government in the urban sector — the development of smart cities and the New Urban Development Mission for 500 cities — are set to take off. Approvals were being obtained.

Referring to the delay in execution of work, the Minister said smart cities, being a transformative new initiative, required extensive consultations with all stakeholders, including the States, urban local bodies, related Central Ministries, real estate developers and experts such as architects, designers, and urban planners.