Warangal, K'nagar smart city projects crawl, top pendency
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Hyderabad: Forget the talk of a second capital for Telangana, the state's two smart cities, Warangal and Karimnagar, are struggling to live up to their promise under the national Smart City Mission.
Nearly a decade after the initiative began, both cities remain among the slowest performers in the country, with a large chunk of projects still incomplete despite substantial central funding and ambitious targets.
According to the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs, Warangal and Karimnagar together have 52 ongoing projects, the highest number of pending works for any state under SCM. Karimnagar has completed about 75% of its projects, while Warangal lags behind with only 66% completion.
In Warangal, out of 119 projects worth 1,800 crore, 79 projects valued at 1,386 crore have been completed, leaving 40 works still underway. Karimnagar has finished 37 of its 49 projects costing 1,094 crore, with 12 pending. The state has already fully utilised central funds of 805 crore allocated for these projects.
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'Frequent changes in plans'
"As per SCM guidelines, 500 crore in central financial assistance was allocated to each of the cities.
As of July 31, Greater Warangal and Karimnagar were able to claim 377 crore and 429 crore respectively," Union minister for housing and urban affairs Manohar Lal Khattar told the Rajya Sabha.
Officials say progress has been delayed by legal disputes, slow departmental clearances, land acquisition hurdles, shortage of vendors and resources, and challenges in fully integrating municipal departments with Integrated Command and Control Centres.
Frequent changes in project plans have further slowed execution.
In Warangal's case, the challenges have been compounded by administrative instability. The Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation has seen nine municipal commissioners in the past decade, disrupting consistent monitoring and follow-up of smart city works.
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