VIJAYAWADA: The Centre has released Rs 390 crore for the development of Amaravati under Smart City Mission initiative. Out of the amount released, the State government submitted utilisation certificates for 98 per cent of funds till June, 2019.

The details were given by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in the Lok Sabha on Thursday in reply to a question posed by TDP MP Galla Jayadev. The Guntur MP wanted to know if the Centre released only Rs 24 crore since Amaravati was chosen under the Smart City Mission.

“The Amaravati Smart City was selected in Round 3 (June, 2017) of the initiative and subsequent to its selection, the Government of India, based on the progress made by the City, has released Rs 390 crore in three instalments. A matching share has also been contributed by the State government. Amaravati Smart City, as on date, has shown more than 98 per cent utilisation of this fund.”

For the record, the State government had sent proposals worth Rs 2,046 crore for the development of Amaravati Smart City, of which the Centre and State will bear Rs 500 crore each. The remaining Rs 1,046 crore was proposed to be raised through loans and bonds (Rs 845 crore) and PPP (Rs 201 crore). The Centre has mandated that the Smart City should be developed within five years of being picked under the initiative.