The central government has clarified that there are no current proposals to include additional cities under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) beyond the original 100 cities that were selected earlier. This statement was made by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Sahu informed the upper house that the government had no plans to extend the Smart Cities Mission by adding new cities. The SCM, launched on June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to develop 100 cities by providing them with state-of-the-art infrastructure, efficient services, and a sustainable environment to improve the quality of life for residents. Under the SCM, the government has allocated a total budget of Rs 48,000 crore for the development of these 100 cities. As of November 11, 2024, the government has released Rs 88,177 crore to states and union territories under the mission, with Rs 82,351 crore already utilized. The mission has made significant strides, with 8,066 projects worth Rs 164,669 crore being issued work orders. Of these, 7,352 projects (91%) worth Rs 147,366 crore have been completed. The remaining 714 projects, amounting to Rs 17,303 crore, are still in the implementation stage.
Despite the progress, the mission has faced several challenges, including legal issues, delays in obtaining necessary clearances, land acquisition problems, and difficulties in managing projects in hilly areas. Smaller cities also face hurdles due to vendor and resource limitations, and decision-making is often centralized in a few large cities. While the government continues to focus on the ambitious goal of transforming urban infrastructure and services in these 100 cities, it has made it clear that there are no immediate plans to expand the mission to additional cities. The focus remains on successfully completing the existing projects and addressing the challenges faced in the implementation of the Smart Cities Mission.
