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One of the signature schemes of the government, Smart Cities Mission, is being further enhanced with an outlay of ₹6,169 crore in 2018-19 as against ₹4,000 crore in 2017-18. However, analysts tracking the sector feel the allocation needs to be further enhanced to spur growth.
Industry experts say the current requirements for smart-city project alone could be in the range of ₹15,000 crore. The outlay for 2018-19 stands at ₹12,169 crore, including ₹6,000 crore for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). A closer look at the Budget reveals that the government allocated a total of ₹9,276.70 crore in 2016-17. For 2018-19, the allocations have gone up to ₹12,169 crore from ₹9,000 crore in 2017-18, a 35 per cent increase.
The Centre has launched 99 smart cities in two years. The first batch of 20 cities was selected in January 2016, and last nine cities were selected as recently as in January 2018.
Technology boost
Says Milind Kothari, Managing Partner, BDO India, “True to the commitment, Smart Cities programme is progressing well and with continued budgetary support, these cities will greatly benefit from a new ecosystem of infrastructure leveraged on the thrust of using technology as the backbone.”
A chunk of the fresh allocation has been earmarked for formation of SPVs in 10 Smart Cities, improvement in specific socio-economic indicators based on the specific development theme being pursued by 100 Smart Cities.
“The government expenditure on thousands of projects initiated under Smart Cities Mission across India has already created a large market for the private sector and is going to further translate into jobs at all levels, better and efficient infrastructure and liveable cities for everyone,” said NSN Murty, Partner and Leader-Smart Cities, PwC India. As on January 17, 2018, there are 2,948 projects worth ₹1.38 lakh crore, at various stages of implementation. A total 189 projects worth ₹2,237 crore have been completed, and implementation is under way for 495 projects with a cost of ₹18,616 crore.
Interlinked programmes
Sunil Agarwal, Associate Dean and Director, School of Real Estate, RICS SBE, says, “The government has two interlinked programmes to address the urbanisation phenomenon-smart cities and AMRUT. So far, 99 smart cities have been selected with an outlay of ₹2.04 lakh crore. It is good to know that these cities have started implementing the ambitious smart cities mission and about ₹2,350 crore worth of projects have already been completed. Around ₹20,850 crore worth of smart city projects are still under progress.”
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