{"id":43942,"date":"2025-05-23T19:08:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=43942"},"modified":"2025-05-23T19:08:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:38:46","slug":"india-smart-cities-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/23-05-2025\/india-smart-cities-mission","title":{"rendered":"India&#8217;s Smart Cities Mission: Questions of Sustainability &amp; Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance; GS3\/Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite significant investments in <strong>India&#8217;s Smart Cities Mission,<\/strong> there are shortcomings particularly in terms of maintenance and sustainability, as recently observed <strong>severe flooding<\/strong> in cities like Bengaluru and Pune.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Smart Cities Mission (SCM)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It aims<strong> to address the growing urban challenges<\/strong> by <strong>integrating technology<\/strong> and <strong>sustainable development<\/strong> into city planning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was <strong>launched in 2015<\/strong> with the goal of transforming urban centers through technology-driven solutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It aimed to enhance infrastructure, improve governance, and create sustainable cities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It included<strong> area-based development <\/strong>\u2014 such as retrofitting, redevelopment, and greenfield projects \u2014 and <strong>pan-city solutions<\/strong> that leveraged digital tools for efficient urban management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It aligns with <strong>15 out of 17 SDGs,<\/strong> focusing on<strong> liveability, economic growth, and sustainability.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e7e7e7\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"293\" height=\"216\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/05\/need-for-india-smart-cities-mission.png\" alt=\"need-for-india-smart-cities-mission\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-43949\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e7e7e7; width:315px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Operational Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Selection Process:<\/strong> 100 cities were selected through a two-stage competition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implementation:<\/strong> Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) handle project execution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Centrally Sponsored Scheme:<\/strong> \u20b948,000 crore allocated by the central government over five years (\u20b9100 crore per city annually).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>States or Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) need to match funding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional resources raised via municipal bonds, government programs, and public-private partnerships (PPP).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over the years, the mission has <strong>sanctioned over 8,000 projects across 100 cities, <\/strong>with an estimated investment of \u20b91.67 lakh crore.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs)<\/strong> were established to enable real-time monitoring and decision-making.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Maintenance &amp; Sustainability Concerns:<\/strong> Despite the substantial financial commitment, cities like Bengaluru and Pune have struggled with flooding due to inadequate upkeep.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The lack of clear guidelines for maintaining smart city assets raises concerns about the longevity of these investments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Governance and Implementation Issues:<\/strong> The governance model of smart cities <strong>bypassed local governments<\/strong> and <strong>relied on SPVs<\/strong>, which functioned like private companies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Delays and Incomplete Projects: <\/strong>Although the SCM was concluded on March 31, 2025,<strong> 7% of projects are still ongoing<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many cities have struggled to complete their planned infrastructure upgrades within the given timeframe, leading to uncertainty about their future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial and Strategic Concerns: <\/strong>SCM has disbursed funds through a grant structure that <strong>lacks a cohesive national strategy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for a Long-Term Strategy<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Smart Cities need to go beyond infrastructure upgrades and embed a culture of maintenance and performance tracking.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Without proactive governance, cities risk repeating cycles of neglect and reconstruction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expanding Digital Infrastructure:<\/strong> Smart cities need to continue investing in technology-driven solutions, such as real-time monitoring systems, AI-based traffic management, and IoT-enabled urban services.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthening digital infrastructure will improve efficiency and responsiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Citizen-Centric Urban Planning:<\/strong> Integrating elected city councils into decision-making processes can enhance transparency and accountability.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Public participation in urban planning can make cities more responsive to residents&#8217; needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s Smart Cities Mission has made notable progress, but sustainability and maintenance remain critical concerns.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Addressing these challenges requires clear operational strategies, accountability, and a long-term vision to ensure that smart cities remain truly \u2018smart\u2019 in the years to come.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> How do the sustainability and maintenance challenges faced by India&#8217;s Smart Cities Mission reflect broader issues in urban governance, and what strategies do you suggest to ensure long-term success for such initiatives?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/opinion\/et-editorial\/our-smart-cities-are-dumbing-down\/articleshow\/121345546.cms\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: ET<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite significant investments in India&#8217;s Smart Cities Mission, there are shortcomings particularly in terms of maintenance and sustainability, as recently observed severe flooding in cities like Bengaluru and Pune.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43942"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43951,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43942\/revisions\/43951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}