Karnal Smart City project gets new lease of life

March 2025 new deadline I Of 121 projects, only 77 completed I Work on 10 continuing

Tribune News Service

Updated At : 09:12 AM Aug 10, 2024 IST

Work underway at a development project in Karnal. Photo: Varun Gulati

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, August 9

The Karnal Smart City project has received a new lease of life after the extension of the Smart City Mission deadline to March 2025.

City included in Mission in 2017
Karnal was selected for the Smart City Mission in 2017, with the goal of driving smart urbanisation through various development projects. As many as 121 projects have been undertaken at a cost of ~929.77 crore. The projects were initially to be completed by the end of June 2024.

**A wall being constructed at the Karna Stadium. Photo: Varun Gulati**

This extension, recently announced by the Central Government, aims to give cities more time to achieve their Smart City objectives. Karnal Smart City Ltd (KSCL), the agency looking after the Karnal project, will now get more time to expedite ongoing projects.

Karnal was selected for the Smart City Mission in 2017, with the goal of driving smart urbanisation through various development projects. As many as 121 projects have been undertaken at a cost of Rs 929.77 crore. The projects were initially to be completed by the end of June 2024.

Of the total projects, 77 have been completed and work is continuing on 10 projects. Four projects are yet to be awarded and 30 are being executed by other departments under deposited works. The KSCL has received a total of Rs 869.75 crore in funding, contributed equally by the Central and state governments.

Among the ongoing projects, the mixed-use development initiative, including the construction of a Nari Niketan building, mahila ashram, commercial spaces, a working women’s hostel and an observation home, is underway. So far, however, only the Nari Niketan building has been completed.

The construction of an indoor sports complex featuring an Olympics size all-weather swimming pool is expected to be completed by the end of this month, an official said.

The Smart City project also focuses on enhancing sports infrastructure, under which the Karna Stadium is being upgraded in two phases. A new cricket ground is also being developed under the initiative.

However, some projects, such as the supply and installation of gymnastics equipment for the stadium, the construction of hostel blocks for the hockey stadium at Kailash Colony, and smart roads in Sectors 32 and 33, are still awaiting approval, the official said.

Of the 30 deposited works, eight have been assigned to the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC), 11 to the Public Works Department (B&R), five to Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), and the remaining to other departments, including the Railways, Irrigation and Water Services Department, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), and the Forest Department. Two of the eight projects assigned to the KMC, including the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and entry gates for city beautification, have been completed. However, the project for two elevated flyovers in the city, which was to be constructed by the HSVP, has been put on hold by the government.

“We are committed to transforming the city. In the extended time, we will ensure the timely completion of projects,” said Ramphal Singh, General Manager (Engineering and Technical), KSCL.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-KSCL CEO Uttam Singh said all projects were being monitored closely. “We have pushed all construction agencies to complete the works at the earliest and to ensure quality,” he said.