Almost 8-9 years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated a mission to make 100 cities in the country smart. When Jalandhar was included in the list of cities set to become a smart city, the residents were quite happy, anticipating the availability of modern facilities. However, the reality turned out to be quite the opposite.
During the last three years of the Congress government in Punjab, most of the work on the smart city was carried out, and numerous projects were undertaken. While some projects have been completed, many are still pending, causing inconvenience to the residents. Allegations are being made that despite spending hundreds of crores on these projects, no new facilities have been provided in the city, and the city has not become smarter in any way. It seems that all the money allocated for the smart city has been spent on projects related to streets, drains, and sewage.
This is the reason why no political party in Jalandhar is satisfied with the working of the smart city. The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has ordered an investigation into all the projects of Jalandhar Smart City by the State Vigilance, and the BJP has also managed to arrange for a central agency to investigate the work of the smart city by putting pressure on the center. In addition, the Estimates Committee of the Punjab Legislative Assembly has also decided to investigate the work of Jalandhar Smart City at its level. In a recent meeting of this committee in Chandigarh, considerable dissatisfaction was expressed regarding the working of Jalandhar Smart City. The simultaneous investigation by three agencies has created a tremor in the bureaucracy of the entire Punjab, as many officers are associated with the work of the smart city.