Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Terming urban centres “new hubs of development”, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday announced that after Bhopal and Indore, the state would get two more metropolitan cities in Jabalpur and Gwalior.
He also announced inclusion of Indore and Ujjain in Smart City-II project. He was speaking at a programme organized by Free Press to felicitate mayors of various municipal corporations in the state and corporators of Bhopal Municipal Corporation.
The event was a part of celebrations being organized to celebrate 42 years of publication of Free Press in Madhya Pradesh.
Commending Free Press for recognizing work done by mayors of various municipal corporations, Yadav said that local bodies have taken a lead in Swachh Bharat Mission, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“If today, one or the other city of Madhya Pradesh figures among the first five in all categories of Swachhta Awards, the credit goes to the work done at grassroots level by our municipal bodies,” he said.
Lauding Nagar Parishads, he cited the example of Khajuraho, where Nagar Parishad manages UNESCO heritage site, an airport and a railway station.
He said, “I was planning a meeting with mayors and chairpersons of municipal committees and Nagar Parishads in Bhopal for a comprehensive discussion on urban development. But the Free Press took the lead,” he added.
Hailing local bodies for making cities of state more liveable, cleaner, smarter and modern, he said that Metro train services in Indore and Bhopal were Modi’s gifts to the state. “Eight airports have come up in small cities and more are in the pipeline,” he added.
Earlier, President of Free Press Group of Newspapers, Abhishek Karnani welcomed the Chief Minister and special guests Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal. He later shared the 42 year of glorious journey of the newspaper in the state.
