Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Central Government had granted an extension until March 31 for the 100 Smart Cities across the country. The State Government had instructed that all Smart City projects be transferred to municipal corporations immediately. However, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Smart City has not yet transferred a single project to the municipal corporation. To address this, union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called for an online meeting on Monday (April 7) with the CEOs of the 100 cities.
In 2015, the Central Government launched the Smart City Mission to develop 100 cities across the country. Each city was tasked with implementing various projects worth Rs 1,000 crore.
Under the mission, the Central Government's share was to be Rs 500 crore, the State's share Rs 250 crore, and the municipal corporation's contribution was Rs 250 crore. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was selected as a Smart City in 2016. Accordingly, the Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited was established as a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The Smart City initiative includes important projects such as City Buses, CCTV surveillance projects, the construction of a Zoological Park over 100 acres in Mitmita, over a hundred Cement Roads worth Rs 317 crore, Smart Schools, E-governance, Smart Health Systems, and Bus Depots.
Despite these plans, not all projects have been completed in the past 10 years. This is why the Central Government granted an extension. The deadline of March 31 has now passed. union Minister Khattar has convened an online meeting, where it is expected that the future of the Smart City initiative will be discussed.
Delayed Projects:
Smart bus depot in Jadhavwadi, Sant Tukaram Auditorium in Cidco, and the Zoological Park project in Mitmita were planned in three phases. The civil works have been completed, and only small tasks including tree plantation are remaining.