95% of Odisha Smart City Funds Used: Ministry of Housing

07 Aug 2024 CW Team

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), approximately 95 per cent of the funds allocated for projects under the Smart City Mission (SCM) have been utilized in Odisha.

Data provided by the Ministry in the Lok Sabha indicated that the total cost of 107 projects sanctioned for Bhubaneswar and Rourkela was around Rs 35.89 billion. Of these, 104 projects had been completed at an investment of Rs 34.26 billion.

Out of the 32 SCM projects proposed for Bhubaneswar, with an investment of Rs 20.71 billion, Bhubaneswar Smart City (BSCL), a special purpose vehicle formed to implement the Mission in the city, was reported to have completed 31 projects at a cost of Rs 20.56 billion.

Similarly, from the 75 projects proposed for Rourkela, with a budget of Rs 15.17 billion, Rourkela Smart City (RSCL) had completed 73 projects at an investment of Rs 13.70 billion.

One project worth Rs 150 million remained incomplete in Bhubaneswar, and three projects worth Rs 1.47 billion were pending in Rourkela. Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) officials noted that, considering the continuation of projects, the deadline for SCM has been extended for smart cities until March 2025.

Bhubaneswar and Rourkela were the two smart cities from the state selected by the Centre for the Mission. Bhubaneswar was chosen in the first phase in January 2016, while Rourkela was selected in the third phase in September of the same year.

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