Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs informed that 86% of funds have been utilised and 69% of projects completed under Smart Cities Mission.
About Smart Cities Mission:
> Smart Cities Mission is Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2015 under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
> The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of‘smart solutions’.
> 100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities.
Mission comprises 3 model:
* City improvement (retrofitting),
* City renewal (redevelopment)
* City extension (greenfield development).
> The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is created by each city to implement the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) at the city level.
* The SPV will be a limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 at the city-level, in which the State/UT and the ULB will be the promoters having 50:50 equity shareholding.
* The private sector or financial institutions could be considered for taking equity stake in the SPV, provided the shareholding pattern of 50:50 of the State/UT and the ULB is maintained and the State/UT and the ULB together have majority shareholding and control of the SPV.
Issues in Smart Cities Mission:
> Lack of Suitable Infrastructure for Smart Cities: Smart city initiatives need the support of physical and IT infrastructure.
> Transparency and Data Privacy: Smart cities rely on gathering and analysing data from various sources which can cause privacy issues.
> Financing: Maintaining smart cities requires a lot of resources and not all cities have the financial capacity to enact smart city initiatives.
> Data Processing Capacity and Efficiency: Smart cities need a reliable and efficient way to process and analyze massive amounts of data.
> Slow progress: Only around 20 cities are likely to meet the June 2023 deadline; the rest will need more time. The sluggish pace of progress suggests that the project management and execution are inadequate, leading to a wastage of resources and causing delayed benefits for the citizens.
> Against decentralization: SPVs limit the powers and autonomy of local governments. This goes against the 74th Amendment Act, 1992 which encourages decentralization.
Suggestions:
> Strict Timeline for Completion of Projects: Smart Cities Mission has completed only 69% of the planned projects, indicating the need for a strict timeline for project completion. It is essential to ensure that the projects are completed on time to achieve the desired results.
> Need for a Long-Term Program: Smart Cities Mission should be a long-term program, not restricted to five or six years as currently envisioned. This will provide sufficient time to address the social and economic problems facing these towns and cities.
> Building Managerial and Financial Capacities: Training programs should be organized to build the managerial and financial capacities of the staff employed by the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and urban local bodies.
> Empirical Studies on SPVs: Empirical studies should be undertaken on the SPVs in cities that lag behind in implementation to understand the reasons for the delay.
> Mobilising Funds: The Centre, state governments, and urban local bodies should make a greater effort to mobilize funds for the Smart Cities Mission. More revenue needs to be generated through efficient taxation, and alternate sources of financing.
> Ensuring Cyber Security: Smart cities should be made cyber secure by ensuring data security and encryption.