Jammu and Kashmir government’s request for 90:10 funding—90 percent by the Centre and 10 percent by the state— for the smart city mission has been rejected by the central housing ministry.
Under the mission, Srinagar and Jammu cities will be receiving funds to the tune of Rs 500 crore each and state’s urban local bodies will have to contribute a matching amount for development of the cities.
In reply to the state government’s plea, a communiqué of the central housing ministry reads: “Smart Cities Mission marks a paradigm shift in urban development and there is no sharing pattern in it like in other government missions or programmes.”
The communiqué adds that the funding pattern of 90:10 is possible in the schemes in which the cost of projects is quantified.
“While in the case of Smart Cities Mission, the financial support to be provided by the government of India is not directly linked to the cost of any project.”
Jammu and Srinagar are among 100 cities in the country that will be developed under the mission.
A total of 5,151 projects have been proposed by the 100 cities in their smart city proposals (SCPs) at an estimated cost of Rs 2,05,018 crore. Tenders have already been issued for 2,748 projects worth around Rs 1,04,964 crore.