Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday requested the Centre to include Ballari, Kalaburagi, Mysuru and Vijayapura City Corporations under the Smart City Programme.
Yediyurappa called on Union Housing and Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to release Rs 295. 20 crore for performance grants for urban local bodies.
Yediyurappa sought the release of the balance amount of Rs 247.75 crore under the non-million-plus cities category and also the first installment of the basic grant of Rs 279 crore under the million-plus cities category.
The chief minister appealed to the Union minister that the concessional fee, which has already accrued to the Airports Authority of India, and the dues from the Bengaluru International Airport Limited be utilised to meet the cost of additional land acquisition for the expansion of existing AAI Airports at Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Mangaluru in general and Mysuru Airport in particular.