New Delhi: Ten months after the ambitious Smart Cities project was first conceived, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its seal of approval to the mega project that envisages the building of over 100 cities with world-class facilities and infrastructure.

At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet also approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) of 500 cities, with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore.

Under the Smart Cities Mission, each city will get Central aid of Rs 100 crore annually for five years. They will be picked via a “City Challenge Competition” that will link financing with the cities’ ability to perform the mission objectives, an official said.

“Each state will shortlist a certain number of smart city aspirants as per norms indicated, and they will prepare smart city proposals for further evaluation for extending Central support,” the official said.

The official said that Amrut will adopt a project approach to ensure basic infrastructure services like water supply, sewage, storm water drains, transport and development of green spaces and parks. It will be implemented in 500 cities/towns each with a population of one lakh and above.