The government on May 23 said that more than 90% of the funds allocated under the Smart Cities Mission have been utilised till now, while 73% of the projects have been completed.
As of May 1, a total of ₹38,400 crore was released under the Smart Cities Mission, of which ₹35,261 crore has been utilised, Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed a Parliamentary Consultative Committee.
The Smart Cities Mission has around 7,800 projects worth ₹1.8 lakh crore, of which more than 5,700 projects worth ₹1.1 lakh crore have been completed, Mr. Puri said, adding that all remaining projects were expected to be completed by June 30, 2024.
The Smart Cities Mission, launched in June 2015, got a year’s extension last month. Only 22 out of 100 cities have been able to finish all projects commissioned under the mission.
The implementation is monitored by an Apex Committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It regularly reports on the progress of projects through the Real Time Geographical Management Information System (GMIS).
A Smart City Advisory Forum (SCAF) has also been established at the city level to advise and enable collaboration among various stakeholders. So far, the Smart Cities have convened more than 756 meetings of SCAF.
For each smart city, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has also been created to plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects. The SPV is headed by a full-time CEO and has nominees of Central and State governments and ULB on its Board.
The main objective of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’. It also aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city.
