Smart Cities Mission extended till 2025

Syllabus: Government Policies and Interventions/ Governance

Source: Th

Context: The Smart Cities Mission has received an extension until March 31, 2025, following an appeal by the Chief Minister of Telangana A Revanth Reddy.

About SCM:

The SCM (Smart Cities mission) was launched in 2015, with the expressed objective of promoting cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to their citizens. A clean and sustainable environment and the application of ‘smart’ solutions were the promises made.

The six fundamental principles on which the concept of Smart Cities is based are:

Objectives of SCM:

The Smart Cities Mission aims to enhance urban life by focusing on core infrastructure, sustainability, and smart solutions. It seeks to create replicable models for compact, inclusive development, acting as a beacon for other cities to follow. The mission sets examples for both local and national replication, catalysing the development of smart cities across regions in India.

City-wise Progress Report as of December 2023:

Madurai: Completed 100% of projects.
56 cities: Completed over 80% of work.
Lagging behind: 14 cities at 50% progress or below.
Lagging cities primarily from the northeast, Union Territories, and hilly areas. Examples include Gangtok, Atal Nagar, Shillong, Silvassa, Itanagar, Puducherry, Saharanpur, and Port Blair with completion percentages ranging from 16% to 39%.

Achievements of SCM:

Digital Transformation: Implementation of smart technologies for efficient governance and service delivery, such as Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) in all 100 Smart Cities.
Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Over 70% of projects align with UN SDGs, particularly SDG11 (inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities).
Infrastructure Development: Improvement of urban mobility through metro lines, BRTS, and pedestrian-friendly pathways.

Smart Cities Mission Success Stories:

Ahmedabad: Sensor-based water network monitoring increased supply by 50 MLD.
Indore: Gravity-based network prevented 205 MLD of untreated sewage from entering water bodies.
Visakhapatnam: Mudasarlova Reservoir Floating Solar Plant generated 3,613 MWh annually, preventing over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Issues with the SCM:

Behind deadlines: As per the recent mission director’s statement, the SCM has completed only about 66% of the projects. Protests and criticisms have been laid against many SCM projects like Warangal and Ludhiana SCMs.
Challenges in Project Management and Implementation: Frequent changes and dropping of projects, insufficient financial progress, and varying physical progress among cities.
Lack of integrated monitoring mechanism and cross-city learning. Insufficient emphasis on core infrastructure projects like social infrastructure and smart energy.
Governance and Capacity Issues: Frequent transfer of Smart City CEOs, undefined governance structure, and monitoring capacity.
Mission Deadline Extension: The current phase was originally set to conclude by June 2023, but was extended until June 2024 to complete pending projects.
Funding Challenges:
Less funds received: Some regions, including Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Puducherry, and Port Blair, received less than 50% of pledged central funds. Only 28 cities received 100% of their share from states/ULBs, with funds released below 60% in 14 cities.
Fund utilization: The SCM has been taking in more funds against the current progress and has utilized 90% of the funds (while completing only 66% of the projects)
Failure in Fundraising Mechanisms: Only 6% of projects are funded through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), with about 50 cities unable to generate any funding through this avenue.
Ineffective Advisory Forum Meetings: State-level advisory forum meetings are irregular, with an average of 1-8 meetings in the first five years. Some cities, like Amravati and Imphal, had no meetings.
Absence of Master Plans: Master plans, crucial for urban development, are absent in 65% of recognized urban entities, according to a report by NITI Ayog.
Low capacity of local bodies: The functionaries at local bodies are of inadequate strength and lack the skills to implement the scheme
Scarcity of land within the central part of cities and other prime locations where the scheme is to come up

Recommendations of the parliamentary committee:

Union ministry to lead the master plan for Greenfield development.
Implement fixed tenure for CEOs of Smart Cities’ Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).
Conduct third-party assessments of Smart Cities Mission (SCM) projects.
Launch Phase II of SCM covering more cities, utilizing SPVs’ experience.
Focus more on Pan City projects, emphasizing technology-driven solutions for holistic development.
There is a need to protect digital infrastructure from misuse and cyber-attacks, ensuring privacy rights.
Leverage the expertise gained by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and expand the role of Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) in providing various city services.
International Collaboration: E.g., India is supporting the Gelephu Smart City Project in Bhutan, while also seeking lessons from Singapore Smart City.

Conclusion

The foremost idea of smartness in smart cities should be to make cities resource-neutral or resource-positive. This means that the city should collect and process all the aftermaths of consumption within the city or consume resources within its ability to replace or regenerate. This needs attention across all micro sectors to bring forth a holistic change and ‘smartness’ to cities.

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