Dehradun: Social activists have urged the Uttarakhand govt to draw lessons from the shortcomings of the Dehradun Smart City project after a report by .
Dehradun: Social activists have urged the Uttarakhand govt to draw lessons from the shortcomings of the Dehradun Smart City project after a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), titled ‘Implementation of Smart Cities Mission in Dehradun', flagged several "irregularities" in the implementation of the Smart Cities Mission in the city. The findings of the report, which was tabled in the Uttarakhand Assembly in Garsain earlier this week, have gained significance as chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recently announced that Garsain would be developed as a smart city. "This report should not be taken lightly, especially as the CM has now announced plans to develop other cities on similar lines, including Garsain. The setbacks, shortcomings and failures should become a template to ensure that similar mistakes are not repeated. Our agencies have to learn their lesson and come back to the drawing board with a holistic plan that does not lead to wastage of crores of taxpayers' money," said activist Anoop Nautiyal. Lokesh Ohri, founder of Been There Doon That and a former independent director with Dehradun Smart City Limited (DSCL), said the project initially had the potential to improve urban management in Dehradun. "When the project had started there were some good ideas which, if implemented, could truly have made Dehradun better. However, the project ended up being under bureaucratic and political control. The implementation was farmed out to large corporate interests instead of trusting the local community. The projects were kept under wraps and inputs from citizens were not incorporated," he said. Ohri added that "if the govt plans to develop other Uttarakhand cities along similar lines, authorities must learn from the mistakes made in Dehradun." The CAG audit covered the period from 2017-18 to 2022-23. Dehradun was the only city from Uttarakhand selected under the Smart Cities Mission in 2017. DSCL was incorporated in Sept 2017 as a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Companies Act, 2013, to implement the mission in the city, covering 22 projects. The total budget provision for Dehradun under the scheme was Rs 1,000 crore under an equal sharing pattern. Between 2016-17 and 2022-23, Rs 737 crore was released, of which Rs 634 crore was spent. However, the report noted that several "smart solutions" proposed in the detailed project report were either dropped during execution or remained "non-functional" due to inadequate planning and implementation. For instance, a biometric and sensor-based solid waste management module developed in March 2022 under the e-governance component of the Doon Integrated Command and Control Centre, meant to monitor waste collection in real time, remained "unused" until Feb 2025, rendering expenditure of Rs 4.5 crore unproductive. Similarly, e-rickshaws procured under the smart waste vehicles project at a cost of ₹0.9 crore remained "non-operational" for nearly two years. Under the smart schools project, interactive boards, computer labs, projectors, e-content, CCTV cameras and biometric attendance systems installed in three govt schools at a cost of Rs 5.9 crore remained "unused because the schools could not afford the high electricity costs required to operate them". The report also raised sustainability concerns about projects such as the Doon Integrated Command and Control Centre and the e-bus initiative due to the absence of viable revenue generation models such as commercial advertisements, smart Wi-Fi services, royalties from e-governance applications and data monetisation. It further highlighted wasteful expenditure of Rs 2.6 crore on environmental sensors and Rs 3.2 crore on a multi-utility duct. Components of the smart road project, including uniform carriageway cross-sections and dedicated pedestrian pathways, were also found to have been executed "inadequately". The audit also pointed to irregularities of Rs 5.1 crore in payments to the project management consultant, including deviations in manpower deployment and reimbursement without proper documentation. The report noted that DSCL "failed to provide implementing agencies with hindrance-free work fronts, leading to delays ranging from 19 to 38 months in completion of eight projects. Advances were not adjusted on time and penalties worth Rs 1.4 crore for delays were either inadequately imposed or not fully enforced, resulting in undue benefit to contractors". DSCL also "failed to recover Rs 19 crore in unutilised funds from an implementing agency". Other irregularities included cost escalation of Rs 10.3 crore and execution of works worth Rs 2.9 crore without inviting tenders. Financial mismanagement such as loss of interest amounting to Rs 6.2 crore and non-recovery of Rs 0.8 crore in interest on mobilisation advances was also observed. Overall, the losses and irregularities exceeded Rs 50 crore. The report also flagged lack of coordination among line departments during project implementation, an issue residents had raised since the works began. It further questioned the functioning of the special purpose vehicle model, noting that DSCL did not appoint a full-time chief executive officer, additional CEO or finance controller, with district magistrates serving as CEOs and seven officers heading the body over six years.
End of Article