Despite having deadlines that expired a year ago, five large-scale projects that were part of the Smart Cities Mission goal to give Bangalore a respectable standard of living, a clean and sustainable environment, and essential infrastructure are still far from being finished. Even though Bangalore Smart City Limited (BenSCL), a special purpose entity established in 2018, is about to expire in June of this year, the projects have been postponed.

The five projects, which include building a second auditorium and other facilities at Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, renovating the meat market in KR Market, building multi-level car parks (MLCP) in Gandhi Bazaar, and rebuilding some roads using the TenderSURE model, are expected to be finished in less than a month, according to BenSCL MD J. Susheelamma. Documents obtained by TOI reveal that BenSCL has completed 41 projects at a cost of Rs 7.12 billion; five projects, valued at Rs 1.45 billion, are still unfinished.