Smart City plan at snail pace; only 5 per cent of total projects completed

Almost three years after the announcement of the  government's ambitious Smart City mission, only around 5 per cent of the total projects have been completed along with a mere 1.4 per cent of the investment amounted to Rs 135,958 crore. According to the data presented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, around 2,864 projects have been identified under 'Smart Cities'. Among the total projects identified, 148 projects worth Rs 1,872 crore have been completed. Reportedly, work on 407 projects that make up of the 14 per cent of the total investment alloted have begun. However, a major 72 per cent projects are yet to prepare a complete detailed project report. Reports also state that of the total 90 cities that have approved smart city projects, only 31 have completed at least one. Among the cities with completed projects, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) leads the chart with 23 completed projects, followed by Varanasi (16) and Raipur (10). However, 27 cities are yet to issue a single tender for the works to be carried out. The duration of the mission is five years, from 2015-16 to 2019-20, as per the mission statement and guidelines. The Center has released a sum of Rs 9,718.20 crore since the launch of the mission in June 2015. Financial support of  Rs 500 crore to each of the 90 cities by the central government. According to reports, the cause of the stalling of the projects is due to lack of the local governing bodies to raise funds with their own resources.