Kolkata, Aug 8 (IANS): India's first set of three smart cities will come up in the next five to seven years in Gujarat, Mumbai and Delhi-Mumbai corridor, it was announced here Friday.
Three hi-tech and energy efficient cities with connected communities will be based on the Barcelona smart city model implemented by Cisco Systems.
"We cannot divulge the name of the smart cities but there are three of them, one in Gujarat, one in Mumbai and one in the Delhi-Mumbai corridor. Plans have been drawn and the process is in the last stage, said Koushik Nath, regional head-systems engineering, Cisco Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
He was speaking at a discussion in the ICT East 2014 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here.
The project is in collaboration with the central government and other organizations.
Nath said though the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre has given a strong positive signal for the proliferation of smart cities in India, challenges remain in getting the work done in time by the state governments.
"India is 10 years behind countries like U.S. and others in the concept of smart cities. You need smart people to live in smart cities. India has a long way to go... it is not yet ready for them," he said, adding there are sufficient funds available for such ventures.