Smart City: Khader takes stock; CS to review progress

A team of senior officers from the Urban Development department will visit all seven cities chosen under the Smart Cities mission for a review after DH reported that the project was moving at a snail’s pace in the state.

Urban Development Minister U T Khader, who took stock of the progress under the Smart Cities mission, said senior officers will visit the cities after June 10 and address any technical challenges they may be facing.

DH had reported that the seven cities selected under the mission - Bengaluru, Belagavi, Davangere, Hubballi-Dharwad, Shivamogga, Mangaluru and Tumakuru - had completed works amounting to less than one per cent of the total allocation, due to conceptual and technical challenges.

“The Smart Cities mission is a project that is jointly implemented by the Centre and the state. Setting up of special purpose vehicles (SPV) took time. Initially, some rules that were framed were difficult to follow and they were later simplified by the Centre. There were also pressure to accommodate elected representatives in the SPVs,” Khader told reporters. “But now, works have picked up the pace.”

Khader also said the chief secretary would review the progress of the Smart Cities mission in the monthly high-level officers meeting.

At present, works worth Rs 6,448 crore have been sanctioned across the seven cities. Of this, works amounting to Rs 2,378 crore were underway, works of Rs 2,000 crore had been tendered, detailed project reports were being prepared for works worth Rs 964 crore and projects costing Rs 1,072 crore were in the concept stage. Projects worth Rs 32.38 crore had been completed so far, Khader said.

“Karnataka is ranked sixth nationally in the Smart Cities mission. The state was in the 11th position when I took charge. By expediting works, we’re confident of moving up in the rankings,” the minister said. Jharkhand tops the Smart Cities mission ranking, followed by Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Among the 99 Indian cities chosen under the mission, Davangere is ranked 15th, Tumakuru 22nd, Hubballi-Dharwad 28th, Bengaluru 31st, Shivamogga 33rd, Belagavi 37th and Mangaluru 40th.