New Delhi [India], January 20 (NT): Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has declared the name of nine more smart cities, considering the toll to 99.

The quest of hundred smart cities was declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015.

Silvassa in Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has grabbed top position in the list of winning cities at this round of the contest.

The other cities take account of  smart cities are Erode in Tamil Nadu, Diu in Union Territory of Daman and Diu, Biharsharif in Bihar, Bareilly, Saharanpur and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and Kavaratti in Lakshadweep.

In media Briefing to reporters in New Delhi, the minister stated that the nine cities have proposed an investment of 12 thousand 824 crore rupees to develop 409 projects.

He averred that, with the selection of these nine cities, the total projected investment in 99 smart cities will be Rs 2,03,979 crore.

Providing information of the progress made in smart cities proposal, Hardeep Singh Puri said, Smart City Centers have become set in Pune, Surat, Vadodara and Kakinada and work is in progress in the added 18 cities. (NT)