Integrated command centres in all 100 smart cities by August 15: Puri
Of the 100 cities being developed under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), 80 have already set up Integrated Command and Control Centres, while the rest will have them by August 15, Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Monday.
Integrated Command and Control Centres or ICCCs are a key component of the Smart Cities project, which aims to develop 100 citizen-friendly, self-sustainable urban settlements
“Work has begun in almost all government-funded projects in the Smart City Mission, and projects under SCM will be complete by next year,” Puri said, adding the projects being executed under SCM are the “fastest among government schemes” despite Covid disruptions.
Puri was addressing the three-day ‘Smart Cities, Smart Urbanization’ conference in Surat organised by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in association with Surat Smart City Corporation Development Ltd as part of the central government’s Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Designed for real-time monitoring, the ICCCs were initially aimed at controlling and monitoring water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure. However, they will now also be linked to the Home Ministry’s Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems or CCTNS.
These command centres also functioned as war rooms during Covid-19. According to a housing ministry statement, along with other smart infrastructure developed under the Smart Cities Mission, ICCCs helped cities fight the pandemic through information dissemination, better communication, predictive analysis and by supporting effective management.
With the Union government preparing a 60-point action plan following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with secretaries of all departments and ministries in September, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has also begun work to finalise its recommendation for providing ICCCs as a service to states and smaller cities, the Indian Express had reported on November 27, 2021.
The ministry aims to finalise the ICCC model and implement a pilot project across six major states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
According to the current progress of the Smart Cities Mission, out of the total proposed projects, 7,905 projects worth Rs 1,93,143 crore have been tendered so far.
“Of the total investment of Rs 2,05,018 crore under the Smart Cities Mission, projects worth Rs 93,552 crore were proposed to be developed by the Center and State funds. Almost 100% of these government funded projects i.e., projects worth Rs 92,300 crore have been work ordered,” the ministry statement said.
” The financial progress in the Smart Cities Mission has accelerated too. The total expenditure in mission was Rs 1,000 crore in 2018, it has increased today to Rs 45,000 crore. The utilization percentage of the total GOI funds released to cities is at 91%,” the statement added.
