Centre to ease Smart City expenses for NE states

AGARTALA: Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri has agreed in principle to revise fund-sharing system for the northeastern states in the centrally sponsored Smart City project to 90:10 instead of the existing 60:40.
This eases the problem for Meghalaya that has been demanding a revised fund sharing owing to its financial instability. In fact, the previous Mukul Sangma-led government refused to take up the project because the Centre was not keen on the 90:10 share.
Puri said on Saturday that five northeastern states, including Meghalaya, have signed separate MoUs with Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL), a central PSU, for implementing the project.
The MoUs were signed in presence of Puri, the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, and Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
Seven cities of the five states will come under the purview of the MoU signed with BEL for developing cloud-based Integrated Command and Control Centre for implementation of the Smart City Mission, the sources said.
The seven cities are Imphal in Manipur, Itanagar and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, Kohima in Nagaland, Namchi and Gangtok in Sikkim and Shillong in Meghalaya. (Contd on P-10)
Centre to ease …
(Contd from P-1) Meanwhile, during a two-day review meeting that concluded on Saturday, Puri said Meghalaya will become Open Defecation Free (ODF) by January next year while four states in the region are currently ODF. He added that others have assured the ministry to become ODF by December 31. (PTI)