Question : Cities Selected under SCM

(a) the names of cities of Rajasthan selected among the major 100 cities of the country by the Government under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) along with the phases in which these cities have been selected;

(b) the names of cities of the country where work has been started after allocation of budget under the said Mission, State-wise;

(c) whether necessary budget was allocated for Ajmer city also after its selection for development as smart city under the said Mission, if so, the funds allocated and spent so far thereon along with the period during which such funds were allocated;

(d) whether the work in Ajmer city has almost been stalled due to the laxity of administrative officers;

(e) if so, the action being taken by the Government to implement the project at the earliest?

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

(SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****


STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY OF PARTS (a) to (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *475 FOR ANSWER ON 25.07.2019 REGARDING “CITIES SELECTED UNDER SCM”.

(a): 4 cities of Rajasthan selected among the 100 Smart Cities are Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer and Kota. The details of selection are as below:

S.No. City Round Selection as Smart City

1. Jaipur 1 January, 2016
2. Udaipur 1 January, 2016
3. Ajmer 2 September, 2016
4. Kota 2 September, 2016

(b): Works have been started in all 100 Smart Cities. The State-wise list of cities is attached at Annex-1.

(c) to (e): As per Smart Cities Mission(SCM) Guidelines, Central Government allocates Rs. 500 crore to every city over the Mission period and releases in instalments. An equal amount of Rs. 500 crore, on a matching basis, is to be provided by the State Government/Urban Local Body(ULB). Balance funds required for the implementation of Smart City Proposals (SCP) are arranged through convergence with different Schemes/Missions of the Central/State Governments, loans, land value capture, Public-Private Partnerships(PPPs) and local bodies’ own resources.

The implementation of the Smart Cities Mission at the city level is done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created for the purpose. The SPVs plan, appraise, approve, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate their Smart City projects.

Government of India has released a total of Rs. 196 crore to Ajmer (Rs. 2 crore in 2015-16, Rs. 92 crore in 2016-17 and Rs. 102 crore in 2017-18). So far, city SPV has reported utilization of Rs. 93.54 crore.

As on 19th July, 2019, 80 projects worth Rs. 909 crore have been tendered; out of this, works have been grounded for construction for 69 projects of Rs. 846 crore; and 29 projects of Rs. 129 crore have been completed by Ajmer Smart City.

Ministry is regularly interacting with the States / Smart Cities through video conferences, review meetings, field visits, regional workshops etc. at various levels to assess the performance of the cities and to handhold them for improving the same. Apart from the guidance of domain experts participating in the regional workshops, cities also benefit from peer-to-peer learning during these interactions. At the national level, the implementation of Smart Cities Mission is being monitored by an Apex Committee headed by Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. At State level, State level High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary has been established to review the progress of its Smart Cities. Further, Government Nominee Directors of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, on the Boards of SPVs, are monitoring the progress in respective cities on a regular basis.

*****