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Smart Cities Mission
Indian government plan for urban development From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Smart Cities Mission was an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen-friendly and sustainable.[4] The Union Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for implementing the mission in collaboration with the state governments of the respective cities. The mission was planned to include 100 cities, with the project completion deadline between 2019 and 2023. As of January 2025[update], 7479 out of a total of 8058 tendered projects have been completed, utilizing ₹150,002 crores out of the total tendered amount of ₹164,368 crore.[5] In 2017, the Ministry of Urban Development was merged with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation to form the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).[6] The project was officially shut down on March 31, 2025.[7]
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Description
Smart Cities Mission envisions developing areas within selected cities in the country as model areas based on an area development plan, which is expected to have a rub-off effect on other parts of the city and nearby cities and towns.[8] Cities will be selected based on the Smart Cities challenge, where cities will compete in a countrywide competition to obtain the benefits from this mission. The mission aims to provide financial assistance and promote sustainable urban development through selected cities. [9] The Ministry of Urban Development used a competition-based method as a means for selecting cities for funding.[10] The state governments were asked to nominate potential cities with the overall count across India limited to 100.[11] A hundred cities have been selected so far to be upgraded as part of the Smart Cities Mission.[12][13] Each city will create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) headed by a CEO to implement the projects under mission.[14]
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History
The mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 June 2015.[15] In the 2015 Union budget of India, ₹2,020 crore (US$240 million) was allocated for the smart cities mission.[16] The mission was further allocated ₹3,215 crore (US$380 million) in the 2016, ₹4,000 crore (US$470 million) in 2017, ₹6,169 crore (US$730 million) in 2018, ₹6,450 crore (US$760 million) in 2019, ₹6,136 crore (US$730 million) in 2020 and ₹6,118 crore (US$720 million) in the 2021.[17] The project was extended and was allocated ₹14,100 crore (US$1.7 billion) in the 2023 Union budget of India and a further ₹16,000 crore (US$1.9 billion) in the 2023 Union budget of India.[18] As of September 2023[update], a total of 7960 projects worth ₹171,432 crore (US$20 billion) crore have been tendered. [6] The project was officially shut down on March 31, 2025.[7]
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List of cities
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Perspective
In 2015, 98 cities were nominated for the smart cities challenge, based on a state-level competition.[19] A hundred cities were supposed to be nominated but Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh did not use one of their allotted slots.[20] All the participating cities from West Bengal,[21] along with Mumbai and Navi Mumbai from Maharashtra, withdrew their nominations.[22]
Selected cities
On 28 January 2016, a batch of 20 cities known as "lighthouse cities" were selected in the first round of the All India City Challenge competition for which an assistance of ₹200 crore (US$24 million) each during the first year followed by ₹100 crore (US$12 million) per year during the next three years was announced.[24] 13 cities were added as an extension in May 2016.[25] 27 cities were added in September 2016, 30 in June 2017, nine in January 2018 and one in June 2018.[26][27][28][13]
Smart cities[29]
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Challenges and criticism
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The Smart Cities Mission has faced criticism over delays, uneven implementation, and issues relating to planning, governance, and social inclusion.
Delays and incomplete projects
Numerous reports have highlighted widespread delays in project execution. For example, in Patna, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that of 44 initially approved projects under the Smart Cities Mission, 29 had not started by October 2022 due to issues such as non-availability of land, overlapping responsibilities, and feasibility concerns.[30][31]
Financial mismanagement and planning deficits
CAG audits and other evaluations have reported deficient financial administration in several cities, including the inclusion of unfeasible projects, diversion of funds to unapproved activities, and submission of incorrect utilisation certificates.[32]
Unrealistic targets and limited outcomes
Independent analyses suggest that many cities have struggled to fully achieve their Smart City objectives. A report by IndiaSpend found that about 49% of projects across 100 cities for which work orders had been issued remained incomplete as deadlines approached.[33] According to Down to Earth, only 18 out of the 100 Smart Cities had declared full completion of all planned projects by 2025.[34]
Environmental concerns
Critics have argued that many Smart City projects neglected ecological planning, prioritising aesthetic or technological infrastructure over environmental resilience. Instances of encroachment on wetlands, destruction of tree cover, and degradation of public commons have been reported.[35]
Citizen participation, housing, and equity gaps
Urban researchers and rights groups have pointed out that low-income groups and informal settlements were often left out of planning and benefit-sharing processes. Reports have documented cases of displacement or threats of eviction linked to Smart City redevelopment, particularly in Indore, Bhubaneswar, Delhi, and Kochi.[36]
Technology overemphasis and functionality issues
While many projects emphasised “smart” surveillance and digital command centres, some of these have faced operational failures. In Nagpur, for instance, nearly half of the 3,686 CCTV cameras installed under the Smart City framework were found to be non-functional.[37]
Cost overruns and public dissatisfaction
In several cities, local residents have expressed frustration over poor coordination and the mismatch between promises and delivery. In Thiruvananthapuram, a newly constructed Smart City road worth ₹33 crore had to be dug up shortly after inauguration to fix a sewage leak, raising concerns about quality control.[38] In Ludhiana West, residents criticised project delays, inadequate public consultation, and lack of coordination between agencies.[39]
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References
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