Parliament Question: Financial and Functional Sustainability of Integrated Command Centres in Smart Cities

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1848 TO BE ANSWERED ON DECEMBER 11, 2025 FINANCIAL AND FUNCTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY OF INTEGRATED COMMAND CENTRES IN SMART CITIES NO. 1848. SHRI KOTA SRINIVASA POOJARY: SHRI DULU MAHATO: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM: SHRI MUKESHKUMAR CHANDRAKAANT DALAL: SMT. SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH BARAIYA: SMT. KRITI DEVI DEBBARMAN: MS KANGNA RANAUT: DR. MANNA LAL RAWAT: SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT: SHRI LUMBARAM CHOUDHARY: SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA: SHRI DILIP SAIKIA: SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI: DR. BHOLA SINGH: SHRI RADHESHYAM RATHIYA: SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL: DR. BYREDDY SHABARI: SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL: SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP: SMT. KAMLESH JANGDE: SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: SHRI GANESH SINGH: SHRI BIBHU PRASAD TARAI: SHRI ALOK SHARMA: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the measures being taken by the Government to ensure financial and operational sustainability of Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) in all hundred smart cities along with the revenue model mandated for their continuous operation; …2/- -2-(b) the mechanism set up by the Government to replicate successful digital solutions of a smart city in non-smart cities; (c) whether the Government has set up a dedicated data governance framework to ensure privacy and ethical use of citizen data collected through ICCCs and other urban platforms and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of works in progress under Smart Cities Mission in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, city-wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has advised all 100 Smart Cities to ensure the financial and functional sustainability of their Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) by releasing of relevant advisories, assessments, and monitoring mechanisms. Advisory No. 27 on “Re-purposing the SPVs created under the Smart Cities Mission” vide letter no. F. No. K-15016/6/2024-SC-I/US-II dated 10 June, 2025 directs States/UTs to support ICCCs in developing self-sustaining business plans, data-sharing mechanisms, and Standard Operating Procedures to enable long-term operations. Advisory No. 29, “Outcomes of the National Conference on 'Making Cities Cybersecure” vide letter no. K-14012/101(16)/2025-NUDM/ (E-9202547) dated 25 November, 2025 further encourages States/UTs to adopt viable revenue-generation models, including CSR partnerships, Public–Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements, and other cost-recovery mechanisms. Additionally, the Ministry has conducted ICCC Maturity Assessments to evaluate key parameters such as infrastructure readiness, functional use cases, governance structures, human resource management, inter- departmental coordination, and financial planning. Based on this assessment, the Ministry has provided recommended actions points to the cities for bridging the identified gaps. (b) The Ministry has published comprehensive manuals, compendiums and best practices along with conducting structured capacity-building sessions to facilitate replication of successful solutions. These initiatives enable knowledge sharing, promote standardisation, and support the adoption of proven solutions across urban local bodies nationwide. …3/- -3- (c) The Ministry has developed the Data Smart Cities Strategy as a comprehensive data governance framework, structured around the three pillars of People, Process, and Platform, to guide cities in the ethical, secure, and responsible management of data collected through ICCCs andother urban platforms. Additionally, the Ministry has released a detailed reference guide ‘Designing a City Data Policy’, which outlines key components such as data classification & categorization, data flow mechanisms, data archival & retention norms, security & privacy protocols, and standard operating procedures for data collection, processing, collaboration, and analysis. To ensure continuous improvement, the Ministry also conducted multiple cycles of Data Maturity Assessment Framework (DMAF) to assess cities on pillars of systemic and sectoral maturity of Smart Cities across their digital ecosystem. Collectively, these guidelines and framework enable Smart Cities to uphold robust privacy standards and ensure the ethical use of citizen data across their digital ecosystems. (d) The details of works in progress under Smart Cities Mission in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, city wise are as under : S.No State Progress Report as on 08.12.2025 Name There were 6 cities i.e. Ahmedabad, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara in Gujarat 1 Gujarat which were selected under SCM. As per the latest progress report, Gujrat State has taken up 359 projects amounting to ₹ 11507 Cr, out of which 356 projects (99% of total projects) amounting to ₹ 11268 Cr have been completed and the remaining 3 projects amounting to ₹ 239 Cr are still under implementation. There were 2 cities i.e. Dharamsala and Shimla in 2 Himachal Himachal Pradesh which were selected under SCM. Pradesh As per the latest progress report, Himachal Pradesh State has taken up 291 projects amounting to ₹ 1552 Cr, out of which 272 projects (93% of total projects) amounting to ₹ 1294 Cr have been completed and the remaining 19 projects amounting to ₹ 258 Cr are still under implementation. …4/- -4- There were 4 cities i.e. Ajmer, Jaipur, Kota and Udaipur in Rajasthan which were selected under 3 Rajasthan SCM. As per the latest progress report, Rajasthan State has taken up 579 projects amounting to ₹ 8640 Cr, out of which 575 projects (99% of total projects) amounting to ₹ 8548 Cr have beencompleted and the remaining 4 projects amounting to ₹ 92 Cr are still under implementation. *****