New Delhi, Jul 28 (IANS): The Union government said on Wednesday that 2,734 projects have been completed under the 'Smart Cities Mission' till June this year.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore, said, "The Smart Cities Mission is being implemented in 100 cities selected through four rounds of competition from January 2016 to June 2018.

"As on June 30, 2021, these cities had tendered out 5,956 projects worth Rs 1,79,413 crore. Out of these, work orders have been issued in 5,314 projects worth Rs 1,48,029 crore, of which 2,734 projects worth Rs 46,769 crore have been completed."

He informed the Rajya Sabha that the Union government has released Rs 23,925 crore to the states/Union Territories for smart cities till June.

"Out of the 1,794 projects worth Rs 57,124 crore that were part of the plans for the smart cities selected in Round-1, 1,667 projects (93 per cent) worth Rs 45,374 crore (79 per cent) have either been completed or are under implementation. All efforts are being made for the timely completion of the projects undertaken in these cities," the minister said.