State asks NMC to complete smart city’s incomplete projects

Nashik: With the Nashik Smart City Mission formally coming to an end, the state govt has directed the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) to complete all pending Smart City projects worth around Rs700 crore, including key infrastructure works critical for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027.The direction comes after the Centre declined to extend the Smart City Mission beyond Dec 2025. Following this, the state's urban development department has relieved the Smart City Development Corporation's chairperson, directors, CEO and staff, and handed over complete charge to the NMC.Two major projects linked to Kumbh preparations remain incomplete. These include the integrated CCTV surveillance system and other smart elements estimated at Rs 371 crore, and City Network Backbone project involving laying of optical fibre cable (OFC) lines costing around Rs 128 crore.Both the projects were originally allotted to the Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd (NMSCDCL) by the Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA). Now, these projects are now to be completed by the NMC.A Govt Resolution (GR) issued by the urban development department has vested all powers of the Smart City corporation with NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri, who has been given the additional charge as chairperson and CEO of the Smart City entity. The GR mandates the civic body to immediately take over execution of all incomplete projects.The state govt has also instructed the NMC to begin the process of transferring all assets and properties of the Smart City corporation to the municipal corporation without delay.As part of the transition, Smart City staff is being relieved and their ongoing work is to be reassigned to NMC officials. The civic administration has been asked to submit a compliance report to the state govt by April 30.Once the transfer of assets is completed, the Smart City CEO will initiate an independent process for the formal closure of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up under the Companies Act for implementation of the mission.Officials said the pending project portfolio includes installation of around 4,000 CCTV cameras across the city, laying of more than 300 km of OFC lines, water treatment plant capacity expansion works and other core urban infrastructure projects, many of which are linked to crowd management, security and service delivery during the Kumbh.Repeated attempts by TOI to contact NMSCDCL CEO Sumant More did not elicit a response.With less than a year left for large-scale Kumbh infrastructure to be tested on the ground, the onus now squarely rests on the NMC to deliver projects that were delayed under the Smart City framework.The Smart City office has a strength of 26 employees, including six engineers. All the employees are expected to be relieved over the next two to three days after completion of procedural formalities.