With the June 2024 deadline of the Smart Cities Mission approaching, cities in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan are making notable progress in both project completion and financial management. On the other hand, Union Territories and cities located in Northeastern states are ranking among the bottom 10 out of the 100 cities chosen for this initiative, demonstrating lower performance levels.
According to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as of November 3, approximately 22% of the total projects (1,745 out of 7,947), accounting for 33% of the total project cost (Rs 57,028 crore out of Rs 1.70 lakh crore), are still in progress. The majority of projects, totaling 6,202, have already been completed.
As of November 10, the ministry’s data indicates that Surat in Gujarat has emerged as the leader in terms of project completion, fund utilization, and overall progress. Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) follow closely behind in the top five positions. Rounding out the top 10 are Tumakuru (Karnataka), Udaipur (Rajasthan), Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Kota (Rajasthan), and Shivamogga (Karnataka).
Conversely, Union Territories and cities in Northeastern India continue to face challenges in catching up. The cities at the bottom of the ranking are Kavaratti (Lakshadweep), Puducherry, Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Diu, Guwahati (Assam), Aizawl (Mizoram), Gangtok (Sikkim), and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh). Sources suggest that the performance gap is primarily attributed to limited capacities in smaller cities. However, an official reassured that ongoing projects are expected to meet the June 2024 deadline.
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The Smart Cities Mission, initiated in 2015, selected 100 cities through a competition held in phases from January 2016 to June 2018. These cities were tasked with completing all proposed projects within five years of their selection. In May of this year, the deadline for all cities was extended to June 2024, providing additional time for these urban centers to achieve their smart city goals.
