Odisha: State capital utilises over 91 per cent funds for smart city
BHUBANESWAR: Over 91 per cent of funds released for the implementation of smart city projects have been utilised in the state capital, while Rourkela has also spent around 84 per cent of the funds under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) so far, reveals statistics of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
As per the statistics furnished by the ministry in the Parliament recently in response to questions from different members, Bhubaneswar was picked for implementation of SCM projects in the first phase in January, 2016 while Rourkela was selected for the same in the third phase in September, 2016.
As per statistics, the state capital has received Rs 997.93 crore for SCM projects of which Rs 911.86 crore has already been put to use for implementation of 33 projects. While 27 projects have already been completed, the remaining six are in progress. The cost of the ongoing six projects in the city is around Rs 496 crore.
Similarly, Rourkela has been allotted a total of Rs 939 crore of which nearly Rs 793 crore has been utilised for the execution of 59 projects. Work on another five projects is in progress at an investment of Rs 357.62 crore. The Centre launched SCM on June 25, 2015, for the development of 100 cities as smart cities. A total of 5,151 projects worth Rs 2,05,018 crore were proposed as part of the smart city proposals.
As per MoHUA the period of implementation of SCM projects has been extended up to June 2024 and all smart cities have been asked to complete their pending projects within the stipulated time.