In response to a question posed by BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore stated that Visakhapatnam is one of the four cities in Andhra Pradesh that was chosen for the Smart Cities Mission through a competition held between 2015 and 2018.

According to Kishore, 36 projects totaling Rs 452.25 crore have been completed so far out of the 61 projects totaling Rs 942 crore that have been approved for the city.  

He emphasised that Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which are jointly owned by the relevant State governments and urban local bodies, carry out the tasks associated with the Smart Cities Mission.

Complaints, whenever received, are communicated to the respective State governments for appropriate action, he said and added that in some cases, the Union Ministry was conducting third-party evaluation.

Further, GVL sought information on the funds sanctioned for the development or renovation of VMRDA (Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority) Park and other works.