GPS for garbage trucks, traffic mobility, battery-operated buses: Why is Pune not logging on to its Smart City plan?

Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched 14 projects under the Smart City mission in the city on June 25, 2016, most of the projects are yet to take off. Projects that the Smart City mission had initially announced, including the Common Mobility Card project, GPS in garbage carrying vehicles, pedestrian and cycle lanes in Aundh, traffic mobility plan, battery-operated buses and its mission to utilise maximum solar power, are yet to be completed even after one and half years of the project’s announcement. Only ₹64-crore spent while ₹323 crore lies unused As is the case with 90 Smart City projects in the country, the Pune Smart City project also figures as one where grants from the central and state governments have remained substantially unutilised. The Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited had received almost ₹387 crore funding and was only able to spent ₹64 crore till date for projects related to the Smart City mission. India plans to have 100 smart cities by 2022 and the central government has released ₹9,824 crore since 2015-16 State governments are supposed to provide matching funds to complete the projects, which are meant to change the way urban Indian lives — from overhauling a city’s public transport system and providing uninterrupted power and water supply to internet connectivity, e-governance, modern healthcare and better education.