Smart City selection not politically motivated: Centre

Since no city of Uttar Pradesh could make it to the top 20 list, the SP accused the BJP government of ´cheating´ the people of the State.
Soon after Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced 20 upcoming smart cities, criticism poured in from parties such as the Samajwadi Party and BSP of Uttar Pradesh, accusing the BJP government at the Centre of ´cheating´.
Urban Development Ministry spokesperson Aishwar Rao said, ´Ministry officials were not allowed to go through the proposals. We handed them to evaluation team and we did not let anyone to see them except that team.´
The evaluation teams comprised three foreigners and three Indians. The team of foreigners came from London School of Economics and World Bank; their Indian counterparts came from independent urban development agencies.