The government aims to complete 1,600 of these projects by the end of March. The remaining 400 projects, which will go ahead from March, are being closely monitored in real time. The official stressed the use of a robust management information system (MIS) that collects project details. Apart from MIS, the government is closely monitoring the progress of lagging SCM projects through regular meetings both online and offline.
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These projects mainly include water supply, multi-level car parking, development of boulevards and smart roads, upgrading of sewerage and storm water drainage infrastructure and construction of new buildings for local markets.
The deadline to complete the project was extended to June 2024 due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another contributing factor to the delay in project implementation was the lengthy process of selecting the 100 cities involved. Although the mission was launched in June 2015, the selection process for 100 cities was completed only by 2018, the official said.
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The Center has selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission, which aims to provide essential infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and better quality of life to the urban population through smart solutions.
The scheme comprises 8,000 projects to be implemented over a period of five years with an estimated cost of Rs 1.71 lakh crore. So far, the Center has released Rs 42,000 crore for the mission, of which about Rs 39,000 crore has been utilised. In the current financial year, Rs 8,000 crore has been allocated to SCM, while Rs 4,500 crore has already been spent till October.
