Smart City project has gained momentum, claims minister

A total of Rs 5,200 crore works are being taken up in seven cities of the state under the ‘Smart City’ project, said Urban Development Minister U T Khader on Thursday.

Addressing the media here, Khader claimed that much progress had been made by the department in implementing the project in the last seven months, and that Karnataka was presently in the ninth position in the country.

The Smart City project which kicked-off in Karnataka in January 2016 with Belagavi and Davangere being selected in the first phase, was expanded to five other cities -- Hubballi-Dharwad, Shivamogga, Mangaluru, Tumakuru and Bengaluru by the central government.

Khader said that the department had undertaken and completed works to the tune of Rs 1,499 crore in all seven cities.

While the tender process for works costing Rs 1,407 crore had been completed, detailed project reports were being prepared for works to the tune of Rs 2,728 crore. These works will be commissioned by the end of February, he added.

The project which has to be completed within a span of five years, gets a grant of
Rs 100 crore each from both the Centre and the state, annually.

The governments have so far released a total of ₹ 7,000 crore for the project and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was monitoring the implementation of the works.