BHUBANESWAR: Around 95 per cent of funds allocated for projects under Smart City Mission (SCM) have been utilised in Odisha, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has said.
Data furnished by the Ministry in the Lok Sabha recently, revealed the total cost of 107 projects sanctioned for Bhubaneswar and Rourkela was about Rs 3,589 crore. Of these, 104 projects have already been completed at an investment of Rs 3,426.64 crore.
Of the 32 SCM projects proposed for the state capital at an investment of Rs 2,071 crore, the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), an SPV formed for implementation of the Mission in the city, is said to have completed 31 projects at an expenditure of Rs 2,056.59 crore.
Similarly, out of 75 projects proposed for Rourkela with an outlay of Rs 1,517.46 crore, the Rourkela Smart City Limited (RSCL) has already completed 73 projects at an investment of Rs 1,370.05 crore.
While one project worth Rs 15 crore is yet to be completed in Bhubaneswar, three projects worth Rs 147.41 crore are pending in Rourkela. Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) officials said keeping in view the continuation of projects, the deadline for the SCM has been extended for the smart cities till March 2025.
Bhubaneswar and Rourkela were the two smart cities from the state which the Centre had picked for implementation of the Mission. Bhubaneswar was picked in the first phase in January 2016 while Rourkela was selected in the third phase in September the same year.