Karwar “Smart City” a Mirage…? Whether Dr. Nitin Pikle’s dream come true

The total budgetary outlay for urban development this year is Rs 54,581 crore, which is just 9% above the budget estimates (BE) of 2020-21.

Karwar : Dr. Nitin Pikle the new President of CMC Karwar announced soon after President’s Elections that he will strive hard to make Karwar as “Smart City”.
Every citizen of Karwar start dreaming that the status of Karwar will go up and the people living in Karwar will have lot of comforts in future.
But, the scenario has changed after Nirmala Sitharaman placed Budget -2021. There is not a word on smart cities, the much-trumpeted flagship programme of Modi government.
These smart cities were supposed to be the lighthouses for other cities in the country. The Budget is completely silent over it owing to the fact that it has become one of the biggest embarrassments to the Modi government. Likewise, the Budget on AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) remains stagnant at Rs 13,750 crore. The Centre has relied more on private capital, both foreign and domestic, to invest in cities and ameliorate the problems there. Will this happen? It has not happened in the past and there are no chances of it happening now!