INR 76,735 crore worth Smart City projects completed: Minister

NEW DELHI — As many as 5,162 projects amounting to INR 91,143 crore have been taken up under the Smart City Mission in the country, of which 4,548 projects worth INR 76,735 crore (84 per cent of total projects) have been completed, Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

“Under the Smart City Mission, 100 cities have been selected, of which 66 cities have a population of less than 10 lakh. This includes 12 cities having less than 1 lakh population, 33 cities having a population between 1-5 lakh and 21 cities with a population between 5-10 lakh (as per Census 2011). An amount of INR 29,693 crore of central assistance has been released to these 66 cities,” the minister explained.

The Ministry also assists states and Union Territories through its Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0).

Central assistance is sanctioned to states and Union Territories and not to cities.

The schemes are implemented by the States/UTs in accordance with the Mission/Scheme guidelines, the minister further stated.

The minister also provided detailed data on the central assistance allocated and released to all the states and Union Territories under AMRUT 2.0 and SBM-U 2.0.

As per the provisions of the Constitution, matters relating to urban development fall within the purview of states and Urban Local Bodies.

However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) provides programmatic support to the states/Union Territories (UTs) in their urban development agenda through its flagship programmes, he added.