25-04-2025
Completed projects under Smart Cities Mission yet to be inaugurated
Several new projects taken up under the Smart Cities Mission in Puducherry are yet to be commissioned months after inauguration while a few others are dragging beyond their scheduled completion date.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had approved various projects to the tune of ₹1,056 crore in Puducherry under the Smart City Mission in 2017. Subsequently, due to various administrative and financial reasons, the project size was scaled down to ₹612 crore.
A total of 82 projects were sanctioned under the mission, of which 57 have been completed so far.
According to official sources, though major projects, including the improvement of the Botanical Garden, reconstruction of the Rajiv Gandhi bus terminus on Maraimalai Adigal Salai, restoration of Calve College Government School and housing projects for economically weaker sections at Chinnayapuram and Kumaragurupallam have been completed, the Government is yet to put them to public use.
The restoration of the Calve College school was completed on October 26, 2024 while the reconstruction of the bus stand was completed on December 15, 2024. However, they are yet to be commissioned, and the inordinate delay has invited widespread flak from residents as well as representatives of various political parties.
While June 2024 was the initial deadline to commission the pending projects that were taken up under the Mission, the deadline was again revised to March 2025. After three extensions, the Mission ended on March 31, 2025 and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has made it clear that the respective State governments would be responsible for completing them thereafter.
'While Puducherry has received its share of funds under the Mission, there has been no progress in the execution of projects. For instance, about 95% of the work on construction of stormwater drains at Petit Canal Street and Murungapakkam have been completed. But the remaining 5% work has been dragging on for over a year,' sources said.
An official of Puducherry Smart City Development Limited (PSCDL) on anonymity said the completed projects were planned for inauguration in January. 'We don't know why the inauguration is getting delayed. The construction of mini stadium at Anna Thidal and development of Urban Forest Trail at Swadeshi Mills has been dragging on despite several extensions of deadlines. The projects are likely to be completed only by May. The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed for execution of smart city projects will also wind up shortly. This has raised concerns over the future operation and maintenance of the projects,' he said.
