All 100 smart cities to have integrated command, control centres by Aug 15: Puri

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday that all the 100 smart cities will have integrated command and control centres (ICCCs). He added that 80 of these cities already have these centres and the rest 20 will be operational by August 15. 

“Work has started in almost all Government funded projects in Smart City Mission, and projects under SCM will complete by next year. 80 of the Smart Cities have Integrated Command and Control Centres, and remaining 20 will be operational by 15th August this year,” said the minister at the three-day-long ‘Smart Cities, Smart Urbanisation’ conference that commenced in Surat on Monday. 

These operational ICCCs functioned as war-rooms for COVID-19 management, and helped cities in fighting the pandemic through information dissemination, improving communication, predictive analysis and supporting effective management, along with other smart infrastructure developed under the mission.

Puri said that despite COVID disruptions, the projects executed under the Smart City Mission are the fastest among government schemes. 

The mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015. The SCM aims to meet the aspirations of 40 per of India’s population living in cities through various urban development projects. Of the total proposed projects under the mission, 7,905 projects worth Rs 1,93,143 crore (94 per cent by value) have been tendered so far, while work orders have been issued for 7,692 projects worth around Rs 1,80,508 crore (88 per cent by value). As on April 10, 3,830 projects worth Rs 60,919 crore (33 per cent by value) have also been fully completed and are operational.

Projects worth Rs 93,552 crore are proposed to be developed by Centre and state funds. 

During the event, winners of India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020 were also felicitated. While these awards were announced through a virtual conference in 2021, the award distribution was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Surat and Indore were jointly given the best city award, while Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh were awarded the best state and union territory respectively.

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