Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a partnership to take forward the NDA government’s “Smart Cities” initiative.
The partnership between the urban development ministry and Bloomberg Philanthropies shall look to promote economic growth, improve governance and deliver effective public services in urban areas.
Sources said that a formal memorandum of understanding between UD ministry and Bloomberg Philanthropies would be signed in a month to take forward the partnership.
A release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said Bloomberg Philanthropies “will provide assistance to the ministry of urban development to select cities for Smart Cities Mission funding on a continuous basis … It will ensure that real citizen engagement happens, as people get involved both in design and execution of city development plans. This will actualize the idea of cooperative and competitive federalism.”
Following PM’s direction, the urban development ministry is working on a scheme to encourage competition among cities to make it to the list of Smart Cities. Bloomberg Philanthropies is expected to help the ministry in selecting the cities. READ ALSO: Boomberg praises Modi’s green steps, says very bullish on India
Earlier in the day, the former New York mayor met urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu where he said that in the US, state and city governments are more pro-active than the federal government so far as development of cities is concerned. He said Americans are apolitical in the matter of urban development and expect quick results and delivery of services.
A release issued by urban development ministry said that Bloomberg mentioned that global financial institutions are increasingly coming under pressure not to assist any development activity that does not adequately address environment and climate change concerns.
