Designed for 5 years, mission was extended till March 2025
Nearly 60 per cent of the 112 developmental projects under the Haryana Start City Mission experienced delays ranging from a few days to more than four years.
The several delays have been attributed to issues like lack of encumbrance-free sites, site clearance, and drawing revisions, according to a CAG report tabled in the Haryana Assembly Friday.
In Haryana, Faridabad (May 2016) and Karnal (June 2017) were selected under the mission by the Centre. Originally designed for five years (2015-16 to 2019-20), the mission was subsequently extended up to March 2025 by the Centre.
The objective of the mission was to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, ensure a decent quality of life for citizens, foster a clean and sustainable environment, and enable the application of smart solutions.
In Haryana, the nodal agencies for implementing the mission in Karnal and Faridabad are the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) created specifically for each city—Karnal Smart City Limited (KSCL) and Faridabad Smart City Limited (FSCL). These SPVs function under the administrative control of the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department.
The Faridabad Municipal Corporation identified an Area-Based Development (ABD) zone of 1,267 acres comprising Sectors 19, 20, 20A, 21B, and 21D to transform it into a compact, well-planned urban space under the retrofitting model. Pan-city development projects were also considered for smart solutions.
Similarly, the Karnal Municipal Corporation designated an ABD area of 720 acres around Ghanta Ghar Chowk, Kunjpura, and Mughal Canal Market, with plans to introduce state-of-the-art smart amenities and make it a lighthouse for the city.
According to the CAG report, the SPVs planned 167 projects worth Rs 1,881.75 crore, of which 152 were awarded and 112 completed by June 2024. However, “only 45 projects met their scheduled timelines, while 67 projects faced delays ranging from three to 1,506 days”.
Elaborating on the delays, the ULB department informed the auditors that “the smart city mission were brownfield projects and retrofitted in the existing infrastructure created before the implementation of Smart City Mission which encountered several challenges such as shifting of existing utilities, inter departmental consultation with various departments, Covid lockdown, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directions for closure of projects.”
The department added that “the delay was acknowledged by the Centre and completion deadline was extended up to March 2025.”
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Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: The Indian Express, 20.02.2026
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