THE AMBITIOUS SMART Cities Mission (SCM) is yet to become a reality as nearly 400 projects worth ₹22,814 crore are still stuck. These projects have already missed their December 2023 deadline and are now expected to be completed by June this year.
A bunch of reasons are causing the delay, including the execution challenges, frequent transfer of CEOS in special purpose vehicles (SPVS), issues with CEO appointments, poor judgement in project selection, weak coordination between the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MOHUA) and state governments, and the lack of private sector participation, among others.
"SCM is a transformative idea and needs smart governments to execute it. The ministry has allowed misconceptions to grow and it should have paid more attention to leadership development and stakeholder participation," said Jagan Shah, CEO, The Infravision Foundation.
Take the case of CEOs heading SPVS. Under the plan, each city has to form an SPV, which is to be registered as a company under the Companies Act. The problem, as experts point out, is that these SPVs are usually headed by senior bureaucrats.
There are hardly any CEOs tapped from the private sector. "The power to appoint the CEO is with the state governments and corporations.
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