Lucknow: In a positive development for the state, 99% of the projects that were scheduled to be taken up under the Smart City scheme were commissioned. Chasing a deadline of Mar 15, in the latest review carried out by the urban development department, it was found that out of the total 682 projects, that were sanctioned to improve the ease of living for urban residents, 677 were completed. Out of the remaining five projects, three could be inaugurated within a week, while the remaining ones, too, would be made operational by Mar 14, said senior officials.
Launched by the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) in June 2015, in UP, 10 cities governed by municipal corporations were taken up under the scheme.Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Saharanpur and Varanasi were among the cities that were taken up under the scheme. Officials said that once the 10 cities achieved the ‘smart city’ tag, the Central govt could provide funds to upgrade the other cities in UP.Completion of the milestones stipulated under the project took longer than usual as large-scale irregularities were detected in the execution of the scheme during the first three years. Experts from the comptroller and auditor general pointed out specific cases through their audit report while reviewing the projects being taken up in the scheme. The findings were released in the 2022-23 financial year for action. However, by Mar 15, the money allocated for the projects was utilised as per the mandate, said an officer deputed in the directorate of urban local bodies.It should be mentioned that, at the request of the state, the Central govt extended the deadline of the Smart City scheme three times in the past. After Mar 31 last year, the last deadline assigned to the state, no more funds were disbursed for the scheme by the centre. Meanwhile, the state govt is also upgrading the remaining seven cities governed by municipal corporations under the ‘UP State Smart City Mission’ that was introduced in 2019-2020.
