Introduction

The Smart Cities Mission completed seven years on 25th June 2022. Against the commitment of Rs 48,000 crore for 100 cities over five years and a matching equivalent amount to be released by the states, the centre has so far released a total of Rs 28,413.60 crore and 83 per cent of it has been utilised. The city development plans were designed around the budget with the assurance that finance would be available to this extent. And yet, the utilisation has not even crossed 50% of the amount committed and we are not even counting two extra years in which, one can assume, the pandemic took precedence. So with no money constraint the mission has been able to utilise only 49% of the committed amount across 100 cities. Considering that each city has been asked to confer with their citizens and plan an intervention which will improve liveability, workability and sustainability in their respective cities, this seems like a missed opportunity.