An investment of Rs 1,91,155 crore has been proposed for the 90 cities under the Smart Cities project, Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri said on Monday, a day after Congress President Rahul Gandhi said only seven per cent of funds for the project had been used.
An official statement issued on Monday quoted the Minister's address to a meeting of the Parliamentary consultative committee attached to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on December 28, which said projects worth Rs.1,35,459 crore in 2,855 projects were in various stages of implementation.
While 147 projects worth Rs.1,872 crore have been completed and 396 projects with a cost of Rs.14,672 core are currently under implementation, further tendering has started for 283 projects at a cost of Rs.16,549 and detailed project reports are being prepared for 2,029 projects worth Rs.1,02,366 crore.
In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi said the government utilised only 7 per cent of the Rs 9,860 crore allotted for the Smart Cities scheme.
"Dear Modi bhakts, Out of 9,860 crores for the Smart Cities only 7% has been used. China is out competing us while your master gives us empty slogans," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Puri also said that so far 77 Smart Cities, including 11 of the Round 3 cities, had formed their Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
The implementation of the Smart Cities Mission will be done by an SPV, to be set up at city level in the form of a limited company under the Companies Act, 2013, and is to be promoted by the state or Union Territory and the Urban Local Body (ULB) jointly, with both having 50:50 equity shareholding.
However, according to a report from the ministry of housing and urban affairs submitted in the Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu lags compared to other states in implementing the smart city project. The report states that the state has not spent even 1% of the total Rs 196 crore sanctioned by the centre in 2016.
According to a report in Times of India, apart from the funds allocated by the centre, the state government's share of another 200 crore has also been lying idle with the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDCO).