NEW DELHI: Implementation of the ‘Smart City Mission’ has not been very smartly done, as just 3.41 per cent projects have been completed in the last three years, forcing the government to extend deadlines by three years. Sources said completion schedules may be extended even more and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has taken note of delays in the flagship mission for urban transformation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs officials soon to take stock.
So far, 99 cities have been selected for development as Smart Cities, in a mission that involves a whopping 3,183 projects worth `1,45,245 crore. However, a ministry presentation to the parliamentary standing committee on April 26 disclosed that work has been finished only in projects worth `4,960 crore till now. Projects worth `23,243 crore have begun and tenders have been called for projects worth `17,213 crore.
Deadlines set in 2015 for completion of 100 smart cities within five years by 2019-20, have been extended till 2022-23 for finishing projects in cities selected in round four.
The mission comprise key projects like digitally integrated Smart City centres, street re-design, installation of solar rooftop on buildings, etc, and the progress has been slow. A senior official said the progress depends on the Smart City’s selection date as after that it takes almost 18 months in setting up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV), procuring Project Management Consultant (PMC) firms, hiring Human Resources, preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and then call for tenders. “These processes take long and now the work has started and there has been satisfactory progress in the last one year,” the official revealed.
Out of the 99 Smart Cities, 91 have incorporated SPVs, while nine, including Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Visakhapatnam, Bhopal, Pune, Kakinada, Surat and Nagpur have already established Integrated City Command and Control Centres. Work is underway on 14 more and 32 are under tendering stage.
Officials said Smart Road projects worth `228 crore have been completed in four cities and projects worth `5,123 crore are under implementation or at the tendering stage in 40 cities. Smart Solar projects in six cities have been completed, while projects in 49 cities are under implementation or tendering.
Smart Water projects have been completed in six cities while projects are under implementation or tendering in 43 cities. Similarly, Smart Waste Water projects in 46 cities have been completed or are under implementation. Public Private Partnership projects worth `734 crore have been completed in 13 cities while projects worth `7,753 crore are under implementation/tendering in 52 cities. Other major projects worth `107 crore like heritage conservation, waterfront development, public space development have been completed in 13 cities and projects worth `5,865 crore are under implementation or tendering.