Opposition brings up slow progress of Smart Cities project in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Opposition parties on Wednesday raised the issue of the slow pace of the Smart Cities programme, saying the progress is very "miniscule" and also demanded an increase in funding for housing for the poor.

Participating in the debate on the working of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Aam Adami Party MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney said the government announced 100 Smart Cities but progress is very miniscule.

He further said that as many as 32 Smart Cities are completed but 68 Smart Cities have not achieved targets.

He also pointed out that Delhi needed 22 lakh houses but we have not achieved the target. The budget for Smart City projects has been curtailed to Rs 2,700 crore this year from Rs 8,000 crore earlier.

"This is an issue of great concern and hope the shortfall of funds would be met through supplementary grants by the finance minister," he said.

He also pointed towards no metro rail project in Chandigarh and the industrial city Ludhiana which have huge traffic flow. Singh demanded the allocation of funds for metro rail projects for Chandigarh and Ludhiana.

He also pointed towards unnatural flooding (especially in Delhi) during the rainy season.

TMC MP Jawhar Sircar also pointed towards the tardy implementation of the Smart Cities project and said, "You were to give 100 Smart Cities. It is one of the classic cases of maladministration. You need to focus on schemes which people will actually use." He also highlighted unnatural flooding in Delhi. He also pointed out that in the new Parliament building, two member gates, Shardul and Makar Dwars, have no protection.

About the PM Awas Yojana, he said that though the contribution of the Centre is 60 per cent, the implementation is very slow.

Most of the houses built for the poor are in peripheral areas of town which has transport problems, he pointed out.

YSRCP MP Meda Raghunadha Reddy pointed towards poor implementation of the PM Awas Yojana.

He urged the government to provide benefits of the scheme to marginalised people in the country.

DMK MP R Girirajan urged the central government to release Tamil Nadu’s share of funds immediately for urban development projects like Chennai Metro Rail.

Congress MP Ajay Makan said that the present government has reduced the benefit on housing under PM Awas Yojana to Rs 1-1.5 lakh per person from Rs 2.5-4 lakh that was earmarked under Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana.

"We kept minimum central assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh for everyone in large cities, Rs 3 lakh for small cities and for north east we kept at least Rs 4 lakh. This I am talking about 2013. Eleven years ago this was our thought. At the time of Rajiv Awas Yojna we had kept 2.5-4 lakh, it has now reduced to 1-1.5 lakh," Makan said.

He said houses cannot be even repaired in Rs 1 lakh forget about even building them.

Participating in the discussion, BJP member Ghanshyam Tiwari said Rs 86,000 crore is the highest-ever allocation made to the housing and urban affairs ministry.

He said that 2,000 shelters will be made for labourers.

Tiwari said that the biggest problems in the cities are related to plots. He said that the government will make a digital map of plots and houses using a GPS system that will ensure ownership.

He said that the measure has been taken to address problems related to demolition and encroachments.

BJD MP Muzibulla Khan sought a metro rail project connecting Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

AIADMK MP M Thambidurai sought a smart city tag for Hosur.

Mithlesh Kumar of BJP said the government is taking a lot of measures to support affordable housing in the country.

BJP MPs Geeta alias Chandraprabha and Sumitra Balmik also participated in the debate. PTI PRS MSS KKS MR