Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) which executed smart city projects here, will continue to function as a guiding body despite the Smart Cities Mission culminating in March last year, according to a recent reply by minister of state for housing and urban affairs Tokhan Sahu in the Rajya Sabha.In response to a question on the status of the SPVs formed to execute smart city projects in the country, Sahu said, “The Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015, was implemented through SPVs. The city-level implementation was done by an SPV created for planning, appraising, approving projects, releasing funds, procuring and managing projects.”
He stated that the SPVs are registered as private companies under the Companies Act, 2013, and were funded through grants released by both state and central govts throughout the implementation period of the mission.“Recognising the strategic investments made in establishing and strengthening SPVs, and their growing relevance in supporting urban local bodies to address complex and evolving urban challenges, govt of India considered that these should continue,” he stated.Sahu said the Centre also issued an advisory outlining the future role of SPVs. He said that they were mandated to implement the Smart Cities Mission through focused planning, project development and on-ground execution.“The SPVs cultivated a robust institutional capacity to manage high-volume urban projects within short timelines, while also contributing to the emergence of a skilled urban management workforce within the govt system,” he added.The minister’s reply has put an end to the speculation that BSCL would cease to exist after the culmination of the mission.“There was a discussion among urban experts that BSCL will stop functioning since the Smart Cities Mission ended in March last year. However, it needs to function to ensure the maintenance of the infrastructure it created,” urban planner Dipu Nanda said.
