NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, has extended the deadline of the Smart Cities Mission till March 2025, giving cities some additional time to complete their ongoing development works undertaken as part of the mission. These pending works constitute nearly 10 per cent of all approved projects.
The officials informed that the ministry extended the mission deadline on the requests of states, asking for additional time to complete the remaining projects as they’ve due to various on-ground reasons. This is the second instance where the mission’s timeline has been extended. Earlier the mission was extended to June 2024.
The ministry’s statement in this regard read, “As of July 3, 2024, the 100 cities have completed 7,188 projects (90 per cent of total projects) amounting to ₹1,44,237 crore as part of the mission. The balance 830 projects amounting to ₹19,926 crore are also in advanced stages of completion.”
The ministry informed that the government has allocated ₹48,000 crore for 100 cities across India. Out of the allocated ₹48,000 crores, ₹46,585 crores or 97 per cent of the allocated amount has already been disbursed to the 100 cities. Additionally, out of the released amount, nearly 93 per cent have been spent as on date. Although the mission’s deadline is extended, this would be without any additional cost.