Smart Cities

On social media Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi commented in hindi on BJP’s Smart Cities on March 31, 2026

“No city can be ‘smart’ if it fails to provide its citizens with basic dignity—clean water, clean air, and safety. You surely remember the Modi government’s Smart Cities Mission—the very initiative the Prime Minister never tired of extolling! Now that this scheme is drawing to a close, I sought an account from the government in Parliament regarding its actual outcomes. And the truth that emerged can be described as nothing short of a deception—the objective of this scheme was never, in fact, to develop the entire city. The nation was sold an incomplete, half-baked scheme, packaged as a story of total transformation. The questions asked were:

• What are Smart Cities like?
• On what basis was success determined?
• How many cities truly transformed?
• What concrete changes occurred in people’s lives?

No clear answer was received.

It was merely stated that approximately ` 48,000 crore had been spent, and 97 percent of the projects were declared “complete”—but if everything is indeed complete, then what has actually changed in your city?

The ground reality tells a different story—deaths are occurring due to contaminated water and open sewers, while collapsing bridges and sinking roads further expose this failure. This scheme serves as an example of the Modi government’s true modus operandi: grand announcements, even grander publicity, and zero accountability. Search for your city in the list and decide for yourself—is this the same ‘Smart City’ that you were sold a dream of?”