The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, has introduced the New Cities Scheme to address urban challenges and support sustainable growth. The initiative builds upon the successful Smart Cities Mission and aims to tackle the mounting pressures of rapid urbanisation. As part of the scheme, the 15th Finance Commission (15 FC) has earmarked ₹8,000 crore as a performance-based challenge fund. This funding will support the development of eight new cities across the country, with each state eligible to secure funding for one city.

Expert committee finalises bid parameters

In alignment with the 15th FC's recommendations, MoHUA formed an Expert Committee (EC) to define the bid parameters and minimum eligibility criteria for the scheme. Following the committee's guidelines, a request for proposal (RfP) was issued to all states. Initially, the ministry received 26 proposals from 21 states. However, revised submissions were sought from North-Eastern states due to the lack of high-quality proposals. As a result, 28 proposals from 23 states are now under review, signalling strong interest in the scheme.

Proposed city names for the scheme 

Names of Andhra Pradesh’s Kopparthay, Arunachal Pradesh’s Gumin Nagar, Assam’s Jagiroad, Goa’s New MOPA Ayush City, Pernem, Gujarat’s GIFT city expansion/Ambaji, Haryana’s Gurugram, Himachal Pradesh’s Mountain Township, Jharkhand’s New Ranchi City, Kerala’s Aerocity/ OAGC Neopolis – The New City, Pallipuram, Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur Extension/ Pithampur phase 4, Maharashtra’s Virul/ Savargaon Mal, Manipur’s Gateway City, Meghalaya’s New Shillong Knowledge City, Mizoram’s Tanhril Local Council, Nagaland’s Chhathe Valley, Odisha’s Bhubaneswar, Punjab’s Aerotropolis, Rajasthan’s GFC-Ranpur, Sikkim’s Pakyong, Tamil Nadu’s Thirumazhisai, Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, Uttarakhand’s Doiwala/ Prag Farm Township and West Bengal’s Bantala Greenfield City, Karmadiganta have been proposed to get included into the new scheme of the smart city mission.