Centre today dismissed allegation of political discrimination in the selection of first 20 smart cities. Addressing a function in New Delhi, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said no cities have been removed from the list of 100 Smart Cities. He clarified that according to the Budget 20 cities were to be selected for the first year and 40 each for second and third years under the mission. <br/><br/>Mr. Naidu said the selection of 20 cities was made through competition, which was totally objective and transparent. His reaction came in the backdrop of allegation of discrimination by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for not selecting any city of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the first list. <br/><br/>Recently, government announced the first batch of 20 smart cities from 11 states and Delhi. Altogether 100 cities are to be developed into smart cities as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious programme. For this, the Centre has earmarked 48,000 crore rupees and the states will have to contribute the equal amount.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar toady met Mr. Naidu in New Delhi and discussed various issues related to urban development in the state. During the meeting Mr Kumar insisted on factoring in parameters like regional imbalance and variation in current level of development while selecting cities under the Smart City Mission.