The 3-day “Smart Cities, Smart Urbanization” conference had a grand opening in Surat today. The event is being organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India with Surat Smart City Corporation Development Ltd., under the clarion call of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), given by Hon’ble Prime Minister to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence.
KEY POINTS:
- Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs was the chief guest at the event. Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat addressed the gathering through a Video Message. Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Kaushal Kishore, Union Minister of State for Railways Ms Darshana Jardosh, Shri Vinod Moradiya, Minister of Urban development and urban housing, Government of Gujarat, Dr Audimulapu Suresh, Minister of Education, Andhra Pradesh, Shri C.R. Patil, MP, and Smt. Hemali Kalpeshkumar Boghawala, Mayor, Surat took part in the inaugural session.
- The event was attended by all key urban stakeholders from the Central and State Governments, including Secretary, MoHUA Shri Manoj Joshi, Principal Secretaries of States/UTs, Municipal Commissioners of Cities, MDs/CEOs of 100 Smart Cities, State Level Nodal Agencies/ Mission Directorates, professionals, industry representatives, media, and members of academia.
- During the inaugural, award winners of the India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020 were honoured with an awards distribution ceremony. In 2021, these prizes were first announced during a virtual conference.
However, because to the COVID-19 scenario at the time, the prize distribution ceremony was postponed. The Best City award went to Surat and Indore, and the Best State award went to Uttar Pradesh. Annexures I, II, and III contain a list of awards.
