SHILLONG: The new state government, which has inherited a huge financial burden, will follow in the footsteps of the previous regime and insist on 90:10 funding for the Centre’s Smart City project.
Urban Affairs Minister Hamlet Dohling has said it “will be a formidable task for the state” to follow the 50:50 funding as mentioned by the Centre “as it lacks resources”.
“Will inspect other states and if we see positive developments, we will attempt in the state while we also insist that the funding pattern should be 90:10,” he reiterated.
According to Dohling, some states in the country are making progress in the implementation of the Smart City project.
Bringing in developmental projects in hilly areas is not easy but “we expect to have a smart city and will make necessary assessments”, the minister has assured.
The previous Congress-led government had raised the demand for 90:10 funding pattern for Meghalaya.
Under the mission, the Centre allocates Rs 500 crore to each of the cities for implementing projects proposed by it.
This amount is matched with a grant of the same amount by respective states. As per the project, a minimum of Rs 1,500 crore is estimated to improve the sewerage system, drainage and waste management, among others.
As on January, 189 projects worth Rs 2,237 crore have been completed while another 2,948 projects worth Rs 1.38 lakh crore are in various stages of implementation.
