Fund paucity affects Karnataka’s smart city plan

infraThe smart city wave in India has reaped in good results for some cities, while some have yet to see the light through the smart utilisation of resources in their city.

While six tier-2 cities of Karnataka are on the cusp of receiving funds from the Centre under its Smart City project, Bengaluru, Mysuru and Kalaburgi still await the state government’s nod for the ‘diluted’ version of the scheme, inform officials.

These cities were proposed by the state government even though they were rejected by the Centre. The state government had tried its luck at redemption by floating a separate development scheme only for these three cities. The proposed scheme was on the lines of the Centre’s smart city project.

Under the Centre’s scheme, each city would receive Rs. 1,000 crore.

But, allocating such a huge amount of Rs 3,000 crore for the three cities over a five year period has become a financial burden for the government, according  to urban development department officials.

According to the total outlay, the department itself is allocated some Rs 8,000 crore, and that it’s virtually impossible for them to spare Rs 3,000 crore for the three cities over a period of five years, informed an official.

The proposals are yet to be prepared, reworked and then again sent to the cabinet for approval. The ‘diluted’ version of the smart city project shall consume less than two to three months to start receiving traction and be implemented, the official added.