New Delhi, May 24: Ranchi improved its smart city plan by 27 per cent to secure a place in the list of 13 cities that have now made the cut after a fast-track process was introduced to accommodate those that were left out of the first round of 20 beneficiaries of the Centre's scheme.

"These 13 cities have substantially improved their smart city plans by addressing the deficiencies identified in the first round of the competition by ensuring better profiling of respective cities in terms of infrastructure gaps and baseline service levels, ensuring consistency between citizens' aspirations and action plans, more feasible resource mobilisation plans and coordinated and integrated picture of how individual projects will contribute to area level changes," said Union urban development minister Venkiah Naidu today.

While poll bound Lucknow improved the quality of its smart city plan by 19 per cent to make it to the select list, cities in the east and northeast improved significantly to claim their spots - like, New Town in Calcutta (Bengal) improved by 11 per cent, Bhagalpur (Bihar) by 25 per cent, Imphal (Manipur) by 27 per cent and Agartala (Tripura) by 25 per cent.

Twenty-three cities with higher rankings from as many states and Union territories, which failed to get representation in the first round of the competition held in January, participated in the fast track competition, the result of which was announced today by Naidu who billed the event in characteristic style as an "urban renaissance".

Lucknow topped the list of 13, followed by Warangal in Telangana and Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh. The other cities that made it in the second round were Chandigarh, Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Panaji (Goa), Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and Faridabad (Haryana).

In Ranchi today, state urban development minister C.P. Singh lauded citizen suggestions, with focus on public transport, which he said helped them bag a place on the coveted list.

State urban development secretary Arun Kumar Singh said Ranchi needed a "robust mobility plan" and their proposal for the city emphasised on "transit-oriented development" within the next five years (see box).

Sadly for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Patna still failed to make the mark, while Bhagalpur which had come 65th in the competition of 97 cities in January (Bhubaneshwar had topped), made it. It was Nitish's dismay at Bihar being left out in the first round that led to the fast track competition.

"The 13 cities selected in the fast track competition have proposed a total investment of Rs 30,229 crore. With this, the investment proposed by 33 cities (20 cities announced in January and 13 cities today) under the smart city plans is now Rs 80,789 crore," Naidu told the media.

Seven capital cities _ Patna (Bihar), Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) _ which were not included in the 100 cities short-listed for the competition will be able to participate in the next round with other cities, the minister added.

Among the highlights of the smart city project are assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation.

Under the Smart City Mission, 100 cities across the country will be developed as smart cities by 2019-20 with the Union government providing financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.

While 20 smart cities were selected during 2015-16, another 40 would be selected during 2016-17 and the remaining 40 during the next financial year. Each city selected in different rounds of competitions will be given central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore each during the subsequent three financial years.

State governments and respective urban local bodies will also provide the same amount.