A step ahead towards smart city: Incorporation of SPVs

The year 2015 saw launching of three mega urban schemes, viz. Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Housing for All in urban areas by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government aims to develop 100 smart cities across the country in the next five years, with Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based town planning, using the latest technology and infrastructure, integrated waste management and advanced transport system. Till now, the government has released a list of 90 cities to be developed under Smart City Initiative.

As of 31 March, 2017, implementation of 16 projects worth Rs 1,327.67 crore under public private partnership (PPP) mode have commenced, while 46 projects worth Rs 4,207.71 crore are at various stages of execution. One of the projects that is drawing large investments is Slum Rehabilitation in Junavadaj area worth Rs 385 crore.

Another project worth Rs 345 crore, to come up at Bhopal, involves execution of eight citizen services through a single intervention on PPP mode. An affordable housing project to be developed at Surat worth Rs 210 crore is a third project. A major slum development project, entailing an investment of Rs 690 crore will come up at Bhubaneshwar.

The mission will be carried out at the city level by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created for the purpose. As of March 2017, 59 SPVs have been incorporated in the scheme. Investments ranging from Rs 1,300 crore to Rs 6,000 crore will be made by individual cities depending on the extent of basic urban infrastructure such as water and sanitation pipelines, housing, roads, etc. for upgradation of the city.

Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Chandigrah, Lucknow, and Vishakapatnam are some of the major cities that have incorporated SPVs. Thane Smart City, an SPV, has been incorporated for execution of this project in Thane. It has proposed a plan of Rs 6,630 crore under the smart city and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) missions. Of this, the civic body has funded Rs 4,375 crore.

The present funding pattern for the smart city project is on a 50:50 basis between the central government and the states. The total investment approved under the smart city mission for 90 cities is worth Rs 1,91,155 crore. The ambitious project will generate 70 percent of new employment by 2030.

The first batch of smart cities was announced on 28 January, 2016. Twenty cities from 11 states and Delhi were selected at a proposed investment of Rs 50,802 crore. A total area of 26,735 acre has been identified under this scheme.

On 24 May, 2016, a second list was announced with 13 urban cities added to the list. These include Lucknow, Chandigarh, Faridabad, and Raipur among others. The government has estimated an investment of Rs 30,229 crore.

A third list of smart cities announced on 20 September, 2016 includes 27 cities to be developed at an investment of Rs 66,883 crore. The states of Nagaland and Sikkim made it to the list for the first time.

The latest list was announced on 23 June, 2017, and saw a selection of 30 cities, taking the total cities picked up so far to 90 under the smart city mission. Thiruvanathapuram, Naya Raipur, Rajkot, and Amaravati among others have made up the list. The projects will entail an investment of Rs 57,393 crore.

Till date, 90 cities have been announced out of 100 cities. Twenty cities, including Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Kavaratti in Lakshadweep, Navi Mumbai, Greater Mumbai and Amaravati in Maharashtra among others are now competing for the remaining ten slots. Announcement of the selected cities will be made soon.