: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said grants of ₹4 crore to ₹10 crore each will be allocated to municipal bodies to put in place the best of urban infrastructure and make them smart and developed.
The chief minister also approved plans for an international-standard shooting range and a multipurpose sports complex in Lucknow. These will be developed on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis and are expected to serve both as training hubs and employment generators.
In a review meeting of the urban development department, Adityanath said that the objective of the Smart-Developed Municipality Scheme is to give the localities under them a modern, self-reliant and citizen-centric form.
According to an official statement, the scheme envisages the construction of Gaurav Path, pink toilets, urban facility centres, smart classrooms, anganwadis, and theme-based parks. The scheme also stresses heritage conservation, revival of reservoirs, setting up EV charging stations, and digital services in the municipalities.
The CM noted the financial limits have remained unchanged for two decades. To reflect the spirit of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, municipal bodies will now be granted enhanced financial powers,allowing commissioners, mayors and boards to function with greater autonomy.
These municipalities, the chief minister said, will serve as “urban lighthouses” guiding surrounding towns and semi-urban areas toward structured development.
Adityanath said that One District, One Product-based structures will be set up to strengthen the local economy.
Officials said that there is a proposal to provide a grant of ₹4crore to ₹10 crore to the municipal bodies, based on their population and efficiency.
In the meeting, a proposal was made to ply 200 electric buses in Lucknow and Kanpur, on contract, and directly purchase 650 buses in other cities.
The chief minister called for a resolution of discrepancies in various tax dues of residents in all municipal corporations.
He proposed a hub-and-spoke model to interlink smaller municipalities with centralised command centers in cities like Lucknow and Gorakhpur. This will allow real-time surveillance, streamlined grievance redressal and optimized public resource deployment.
He also directed that every urban body should have its own functional building.