The Union government launched the Smart Cities programme on June 25, 2015 with the objective to “promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions”.

Chennai was one of the 20 cities selected in Round 1 of the smart cities mission in January 2016. Chennai’s smart city projects are funded by a Rs 500-crore allocation from the Centre and an additional Rs 500 crore from the state.

Chennai Smart City Projects

But for all the hype, the Corporation of Chennai has completed only three projects since the launch of the mission. The lax approach has seen Chennai ranked 37 out of 87 cities according to a release from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

While the Minister for Municipal Administration, S.P. Velumani set a deadline for the launch of all projects in the city by March 31, many projects are yet to take off four months on.

So which are the completed, ongoing and proposed projects for Chennai under the Smart Cities Scheme? The graphic below throws some light on the progress of the mission.

However, the question is this. With 12 ongoing projects, six projects having tenders under consideration, seven projects in respect of which preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) is underway, and a further five projects for which DPR is yet to be prepared, will Chennai meet the 2020 deadline for the completion of works under the Smart City Mission?

Here’s a quick look at where things stand:

Source: Corporation of Chennai