Smart Project, Zero Accountability: All 65 Digital Kiosks In City Now Defunct The Smart City initiative in Nagpur has come under intense scrutiny after an RTI query revealed that all 65 digital kiosks installed as part of the project are completely non-functional. The kiosks, once hailed as symbols of the city’s digital transformation under the Smart City Mission, now stand dismantled, abandoned, or disconnected due to what official records vaguely describe as “network-related disturbances.” These kiosks were deployed across neighborhoods like Dharampeth, Laxmi Nagar, Hanuman Nagar, and other prominent areas, yet none remain operational. The failure of the project has sparked outrage, particularly because the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd (NSSCDCL), which oversaw the initiative, has failed to disclose how much public money was spent on the project. The SPV, which was dissolved by the state government in May 2026, has left a trail of unanswered questions. Despite the city spending the entire 490 crore central Smart City grant by March 31, 2026, NSSCDCL’s RTI response to activist Abhay Kolarkar stated that expenditure records for the kiosks were “not available.” This lack of transparency has raised serious concerns about financial accountability, auditing, and project oversight within one of Nagpur’s flagship urban development efforts. Kolarkar, who filed the RTI query, questioned how a public infrastructure project could lack records of spending, given that payments would have been approved, contractors engaged, and maintenance contracts in place. The collapse of the kiosk network has also exposed a broader pattern of “install-and-forget” infrastructure in Smart City projects.#nagpur #nagpur_police #abhay_kolarkar #smart_city_mission
