The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said 11 cities, including Bengaluru, Gurugram and Aurangabad, have been selected as the winners of the 'Streets for People Challenge' for their pilot projects to make roads more pedestrian-friendly.
In a statement, the ministry said that under the challenge, 38 cites had piloted re-imaginations of an important street each by prioritising them for pedestrians.
Eleven cities have been selected by a jury panel for the next phase of scale-up and will be awarded Rs 50 lakh each by the ministry, the statement stated.
Kochi, Kohima, Nagpur, Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune, Udaipur, Ujjain and Vijayawada are the remaining eight cities.
While Bengaluru has been selected for creating public spaces in residential area with involvement of resident welfare association, the project of Gurugram has been selected for pedestrianising markets and school zones by involving citizens.
The ministry also announced 10 winners of the pilot stage of the 'Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge' that is aimed at shaping early childhood-friendly neighbourhoods in Indian cities.
According to the statement, the challenge was also started in November 2020 and included 70 pilot projects by 25 cities.
Under the challenge, Bengaluru has been selected for enhancing the safety of an anganwadi to foster independence in toddlers, refurbishing common areas, toilets and play spaces with child-specific design standards, it stated.
Indore has been selected for its pilot project to provide a neighbourhood park previously inaccessible to young children and revamping it with lighting, plants and recycled and natural materials.
The remaining eight city winners are Hubballi-Dharwad, Jabalpur, Kakinanda, Kochi, Rourkela, Kohima, Vadodara and Warangal.
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