Smart City Mission Questions? RTI to the SPV and Urban Dept

Part of Pillar 2 — RTI for Community & Society. See also metro project RTI.

• Announced projects not visible on ground.
• Fund utilisation not reported at city level.
• Area-based development (ABD) selection process opaque.
• Pan-city solutions (command centre, smart traffic) vendor concerns.
• SPV governance — board minutes, director list.
• Completion certificates issued; work visibly unfinished.

• Project-completion claim doesn't match reality.
• CAG performance-audit paragraphs surface; want SPV response.
• ABD selection dispute in your ward.
• Fund-mismatch between ministerial answers and local data.

• List of approved projects — with sanction, status, cost, start-date, and expected-completion.
• Fund release from Centre + State + ULB + convergence.
• Utilisation certificates (UCs) — year-wise.
• Tender records for each project — LoA, evaluation minutes.
• Board / Project Review Committee minutes of the SPV.
• Completion certificates and third-party audit reports.
• Citizen-engagement records for ABD selection.

• Smart City SPV — city-level CPIO.
• State Urban Development Department — state-level oversight.
• Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) — for scheme-level / cross-city questions via rtionline.gov.in.
• Urban Local Body (municipal corporation) — for ULB-contributed projects.
• Rs. 10 fee; BPL free.

To,
The Public Information Officer,
[Smart City SPV — CPIO] / Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs / State Urban Development Department,
[Address]

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, regarding Smart Cities Mission.

Sir/Madam,

I, [Name], resident of [Full Address, City, State], submit:

City: ________
Ward / Zone of concern: ________
Specific project of interest (if any): ________

Please provide:

1. Certified list of all Smart City projects in my city — sanctioned, in-progress, completed — with cost, start date, expected-completion date, and current status.
2. Fund-release position — Centre / State / ULB / convergence / private — for each financial year since inception.
3. Utilisation certificates submitted to MoHUA.
4. Tender records for [specific project, if asked] — RFP, technical evaluation minutes, financial bid comparison, Letter of Award.
5. Board and Project Review Committee minutes of the SPV for the last 2 years.
6. Completion certificates and third-party audit reports for completed projects.
7. Citizen-engagement records (surveys, consultations) used for Area-Based Development selection.
8. CAG / State AG performance-audit observations on Smart City projects in my city, with SPV responses.
9. SPV Director list with appointment notifications and tenure.
10. First Appellate Authority contact.

I enclose Indian Postal Order No. __________ for Rs. 10.
I declare I am an Indian citizen.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature, Date, Place]

1. Project list + status.
2. Fund-release position.
3. Utilisation certificates.
4. Tender records.
5. SPV Board minutes.
6. Completion certificates.
7. Citizen-engagement records.
8. CAG observations + SPV response.
9. SPV Director list.
10. FAA contact.

• Day 0–10 RTI routed.
• Day 10–25 SPV pulls project register; UCs and tender records compiled.
• Day 30 Reply mandatory.
• Day 30+ First Appeal; follow-up via MoHUA if project-level issues.

• Asking MoHUA for city-level data — MoHUA has summary; SPV has the detail.
• Not specifying the project / ward.
• Missing the citizen-engagement records — they're the soft ground for ABD disputes.
• Filing multiple sub-questions as separate RTIs; bundle them unless the CPIO requests separation.

• Vishwas Bhamburkar v. PIO, DDA (CIC, 2013) — SPVs of public authorities are in RTI scope.
• Thalappalam Service Co-op Bank v. State of Kerala (2013) 16 SCC 82 — substantial financing test.
• Namit Sharma v. Union of India (2013) 1 SCC 745 — transparency in public works.

• Before filing, download the city's Smart City Proposal (SCP) — all proposals are at smartcities.gov.in. Reference page numbers in the RTI.
• For ABD selection disputes, the consultation record is the pivot.
• Convergence projects — ask for the parent scheme link (AMRUT / PMAY / Swachh Bharat).
• SPV JV structure — verify the state + ULB shareholding; it establishes RTI jurisdiction.

Q1. Is the Smart City SPV a private company?
Legally a company under the Companies Act; functionally a public authority (state / ULB-controlled).

Q2. Are tender records always disclosable?
Technical bids and evaluation minutes — yes, post-award. Financial breakdown may be redacted under §8(1)(d).

Q3. What happens to SPV assets post-Mission?
They transfer to the ULB. RTI extracts the transfer plan.

Q4. Is there a grievance portal?
smartcities.gov.in has a feedback module; reference the ticket in the RTI.

Smart Cities Mission is a city-level public works programme. RTI lets residents audit the projects, funds, and governance — and ensures the “smart” outcomes are accountable outcomes.

• RTI for metro project
• RTI for slum rehabilitation
• Pillar 2 — Community
• Track government spending via RTI

• Smart Cities Mission Guidelines, 2015 (rev.)
• RTI Act, 2005
• Thalappalam Co-op Bank v. State of Kerala (2013) 16 SCC 82

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026.