Ten years ago, in 2015, narendra modi launched the Smart Cities Mission with chest-thumping fanfare – a ₹1.64 lakh crore mega-promise to transform 100 indian cities into gleaming hubs of innovation, cleanliness, and world-class infrastructure. Billboards screamed "Smart india," press releases boasted thousands of completed projects, and bjp leaders patted themselves on the back for "redefining urban India."


Fast-forward to 2026: the deadlines are dead, extensions granted thrice, and an RTI bombshell reveals the ugly truth – only 31 out of 100 cities are even vaguely "smart," 43 are limping toward completion, and the rest are drowning in the same old filth, potholes, and pollution. Lakhs of crores swallowed, yet not one truly smart city to show for it. This isn't progress; it's a monumental bjp betrayal – optics over outcomes, PR over people, and a shameless squandering of public money while Modi jets around the world with his propaganda machine.


  1. Trillions Down the Drain:


     ₹1.64 Lakh Crore Spent, But Only 31 Cities "Transformed" – The Rest Are Still Third-World Disasters


    Official claims scream "94% projects completed" – smart roads, cycle tracks, classrooms, health centres – yet an RTI from the Ministry itself admits just 31 cities qualify as "smart" after a decade of delays and three extensions. The other 69? Stuck in eternal limbo, with citizens navigating broken streets and open drains. Modi and bjp sold this as a game-changer, but it's classic smoke-and-mirrors: inflate completion stats with trivial LED installations while core infrastructure rots. Where did the missing billions vanish? Into contractor pockets and bjp cronies, while India's urban nightmare persists unchanged.



  2. "Smart" on Paper, Savage Reality on Ground: 


    Pollution That Chokes, Potholes That Kill – Is This Modi's idea of World-Class?


    If these cities are so "smart," why does delhi still top global pollution charts, why do monsoon rains turn roads into death traps, and why are open sewers a daily hazard? bjp boasts command centres and surveillance cameras, but basic civic safety – clean air, smooth roads, functional drainage – remains a cruel joke. Thousands of "completed" projects amount to superficial gloss: fancy streetlights that flicker out, cycle tracks no one uses because cycling in toxic smog is suicide. Modi's "smart" vision was never about citizens; it was about photo-ops and headlines, leaving millions to suffer in the same dysfunctional hellholes.



  3. Hypocrisy on Steroids: 

    BJP Leaders Send Their Kids Abroad While Preaching "Smart India" to the Masses


    Here's the savage kicker: if Modi's Smart Cities are truly world-class, why do bjp politicians and their cronies ship their children to London, New York, and singapore for education and healthcare? They wouldn't dare subject their own families to the "smart" schools and hospitals built with our tax money. This elite detachment exposes the lie – Smart Cities was never meant to elevate ordinary Indians; it was a vanity project for votes, a slush fund disguised as development, while the powerful opt out and laugh all the way to foreign shores.



  4. A Decade of Delays and zero Accountability: 

    Extensions, Excuses, and Endless Failures Under Modi's Watch


    Launched with a five-year timeline in 2016, extended thrice, deadline blown past march 2025 – and still no full completion. This isn't bad luck; it's the BJP's signature incompetence. Name one flagship Modi promise finished on time: Smart Cities? No. ganga cleaning? Polluted as ever. 2 crore jobs yearly? youth unemployment skyrockets. Bullet train? Crawling. The pattern is brutal: announce with fanfare, siphon funds, deliver half-baked optics, blame opposition or "inherited mess," then move to the next PR stunt. Smart Cities is the poster child of this 12-year scam era.



  5. Where Did ₹1.5 Lakh Crore Actually Go? The Corruption Question bjp Desperately Dodges


    94% "completed," 512 projects still dragging – but show us one single city that rivals singapore or Dubai. Not one. Instead, whispers of inflated contracts, favoured builders, and kickbacks swirl unchecked. RTI exposes the hollowness, yet Modi travels the globe with his taxpayer-funded PR army, dodging tough questions. This isn't development; it's daylight robbery – public money funneled into the BJP's image-building while cities crumble. indians deserve answers: audit every rupee, jail the looters, or admit Smart Cities was the greatest con job in independent India's history.



Modi's Smart Cities Mission isn't just a failure – it's a national shame, a ₹1.64 lakh crore monument to the BJP's hollow promises and criminal waste. Ten years of betrayal, zero transformative cities, endless suffering for citizens. The verdict is clear: under Modi, "smart" means clever scams, not smarter lives. Time for accountability – or india will keep paying the price for this endless circus.
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SIBY JEYYA

08/02/2026 10:03 AM