New Delhi, April 19: In a huge development, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that 80 out of the 100 Smart Cities in the country have Integrated Command and Control Centres and the remaining will get them by August 15.
"Work has started in almost all Government funded projects in Smart City Mission, and projects under SCM will complete by next year. 80 of the Smart Cities have Integrated Command and Control Centres, and remaining 20 will be operational by 15th August this year,"
the minister said. He said that all the projects worth around Rs 200,000 crore have been tendered, while projects worth around Rs 63,000 crore or so have been completed.
"Smart Cities were selected by stakeholder consultations, and the projects being executed under the Mission are fastest among the Government schemes, despite Covid related disruptions. The success of the smart city projects is having a demonstrative effect. The sharing of learning experiences, and recognition of the better performers will go a long way in making smart cities mission into a people’s movement. Let us create a move to replicate the SCM achievements, so that it catches people’s imagination and becomes a mass movement," he added.
Puri was in Gujarat to inaugurate the 3-day 'Smart Cities, Smart Urbanization' conference organised by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in association with Surat Smart City Corporation Development Ltd as part of the Centre's Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The Smart Cities Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 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".
Smart Cities Mission is a centrally sponsored scheme under which the Central Government will provide financial support to the extent of Rs 48000 crores over five years i.e. on an average Rs 100 crores per city per year and an equal amount of matching basis is to be provided by the State/Urban Local Bodies (ULB).
Since the launch of the Mission, a total of Rs 27,234 crores have been released by the Government of India to 100 cities under the Mission. The progress of the Mission in these cities is done on a regular basis by the state-level High Powered Steering Committee.
The Mission has launched several initiatives that will not only ensure integrated development across various aspects of urban development but also help lay long-term foundation for good quality urbanization in the country.
Smart cities have played important role in managing the crises during COVID--19. With Integrated Command and Control Centres being used as COVID-19 War Room, they have helped in the area of information, communication, management and preparedness.