Smart Cities Mission Extended

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has extended the deadline of its Smart Cities Mission to June 2024, giving all 100 smart cities more time to complete their projects and document and disseminate the learnings from the mission. This move is expected to enable the best practices and innovations created under the mission to be replicated in other cities across India.

The Smart Cities Mission, which began in 2015, chose 100 cities through a competitive process between January 2016 and June 2018. These cities were given a five-year timeframe from the date of their selection to finish their proposed projects. Originally, the mission was supposed to be completed by June 2023. However, with only two months remaining until the deadline, 50 out of the 100 cities have completed 75% of the projects and should be able to finish the remaining work by June.

Project Completion

More than 80% of the projects in the larger cities have been finished, while the smaller cities’ completion rate stands at 66%. On average, about 100 projects worth Rs 1,850 crore are completed every month under the Smart Cities Mission. In many cities, the spending associated with the mission exceeds their regular budget spending.

Project Details

The Smart Cities Mission involved the establishment of integrated command and control centers by all 100 cities, which cost a combined total of Rs 11,775 crore. Currently, there are 526 ongoing projects related to smart mobility, 116 to smart energy, 411 to water, sanitation, and hygiene, 343 each to creating vibrant public spaces and economic infrastructure, 203 to social infrastructure, and 145 to smart governance.

Funds and Budget

A total of Rs 71,000 crore has been released to the cities, of which Rs 38,000 crore is from the Centre, and the remaining from states and urban local bodies. Around 90% of the released funds have been utilized, and the Rs 8,000 crore that has been budgeted for 2023-2024 would be enough to complete the projects.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2023

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs