An MoU was signed on 25 January 2015 between the United States Trade and Development Agency and the Government of Uttar Pradesh for developing Allahabad as a smart city. The pact came into existence after the bilateral meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the US President Barack Obama in October 2014, wherein it was announced that the US would assist India in developing three smart cities, Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam, in a boost to India's 100 smart city programme. On 27 August 2015 the official list of 98 cities to be developed as smart cities, including Allahabad, was announced by the Government of India. Allahabad Task Force was set up by the Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu which consists of Divisional Commissioner (Chairman), Secretaries of Town and Country Planning and Municipal Affairs, Government of Uttar Pradesh, District Magistrate, Vice-Chairman, Allahabad Development Authority, Mayor of the city besides Additional Secretary(Urban Development), Government of India and representatives of Ministry of External Affairs and USTDA. The project is being assisted by the U.S.-India Business Council.
Projects
IBM selected Allahabad among 16 other global cities for its smart cities programme to help it address challenges like waste management, disaster management, water management and citizen services. The company commenced working on solid waste management and power sector in generating renewable energy.
As a part of Smart City Project, Civil Lines would be developed on the lines of Lucknow's Hazratganj. ₹20 crore (US$3,024,000) were sanctioned to beautify all prominent crossings of the city. As per the 'Hazratganj plan', the administration proposed uniformity in signage and colour of buildings and a parking lot to be set up to solve traffic congestion. A 1.35 km long riverfront along Yamuna river would be developed by the Allahabad Development Authority, irrigation and power departments at a cost of ₹147.36 crore. The riverfront would be developed in two phases. In the first phase, around 650 metres at Arail would be developed along with Yamuna, while in the second phase 700 metres of stretch between New Yamuna Bridge and Boat Club in Kydganj would be taken up.
A housing project worth ₹600 crore was launched in the city. Spanning over 15 acres, it comprise 1500 housing units and the sensors installed sewage treatment plants to ensure pollution-free enclave.