CAG Audit Highlights Ineffectiveness of Smart City ICT Projects in Karnataka
A recent evaluation by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has cast a shadow over the implementation of the Smart Cities Mission in Karnataka, revealing that information communication technology solutions have delivered negligible utility across multiple cities.
Key Findings from the CAG Report
The report, tabled during a joint legislature session in Karnataka, assessed various ICT interventions, including the Intelligent Transport System, Intelligent Traffic Management System, and Smart Healthcare System, implemented in seven cities under the central government's flagship mission launched in 2015.
Audit observations pointed to several critical issues:
- Incomplete assessment of requirements before project implementation.
- Lack of coordination with other agencies involved in the initiatives.
- Selection of technologies without adequately considering end-user needs.
Specific Examples of Project Failures
In Belagavi, under the Intelligent Transport System, 271 GPS devices were procured for various vehicles, including ambulances and solid waste management trucks. However, the audit in July 2024 found that only 21 out of 35 ambulances had live GPS devices, with others being inactive or scrapped.
Similarly, in Mangaluru, a passenger information system installed at 20 smart bus shelters was found non-functional during a joint physical verification of five shelters. The contract had expired, and the Mangaluru City Corporation failed to renew it or make the system operational after taking over the shelters in September 2020.
Challenges in Traffic Management and Healthcare
The Intelligent Traffic Management System, aimed at automating traffic management, suffered from the use of outdated cameras, procurement violations against technical committee recommendations, and incomplete requirement assessments for selected cities.
In Hubballi-Dharwad, the Smart Health Care System project to upgrade Government Chitaguppi Hospital faced suboptimal utilisation. An Aadhaar-based electronic health records module was not implemented due to concerns over data privacy and confidentiality raised by the local smart city corporation. Additionally, a virtual healthcare system received poor response, with fewer patients using it compared to traditional hospital visits.
Implications for the Smart Cities Mission
The CAG report concluded that such factors have significantly hindered the effective utilisation of installed smart systems, questioning the overall benefits derived from these technological interventions. The Smart Cities Mission, initiated in 2015, aims to achieve comprehensive development across physical, institutional, social, and economic infrastructure in 100 cities nationwide, but this audit raises concerns about its execution in Karnataka.
These findings underscore the need for better planning, coordination, and user-centric approaches in future smart city projects to ensure they deliver tangible benefits to citizens.
