Patna has found a place among 26 towns and cities of Bihar in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) with the Centre on Friday vowing to pay special attention to the state capital, reports PTI.

Patna recently missed out being included in the Centre's smart city list.

"We will pay special attention to some state capitals, including Patna, for development of infrastructure and amenities," Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters. He said under AMRUT, the Centre would give funds to beneficiary cities, including Patna, for amenities like drinking water, sanitation and transport among other things.

"In all, 26 towns and cities from Bihar have been included under AMRUT, while Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Biharsharif have been included in the smart city project," Naidu said. Asked about Patna's omission from the smart city project, Naidu said the state had recommended only three cities and all have been accommodated in the list.

The towns and cities of the state included in the AMRUT list are Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Biharsharif, Darbhanga, Purnea, Ara, Begusarai, Katihar, Munger, Chapra, Dinapur Nizamat, Saharsa, Hajipur, Sasaram, Dehri, Siwan, Bettiah, Motihari, Bagaha, Kishanganj, Jamalpur, Jehanabad, Buxar and Aurangabad.

The Union cabinet had some time ago cleared the projects - 100 Smart Cities and a new urban renewal mission for 500 cities named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee - replacing the one christened after Jawaharlal Nehru, with a total outlay of Rs 98,000 crore for the next five years. While Rs 48,000 crore has been earmarked for the Smart City project, Rs 50,000 crore would be spent on AMRUT.