Chennai’s Smart City programme ended with 49 projects worth ₹1,104 crore, almost all complete. Set against the other ten Tamil Nadu smart cities, the state capital had one of the smallest programmes, and its money went further on fewer, larger works.
The numbers
By 4 March 2025, Chennai had 49 projects under the Smart Cities Mission worth ₹1,104 crore, of which 48, worth ₹1,097 crore, were complete and one, worth ₹7 crore, was still running, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told the Lok Sabha in an answer of 3 April 2025. Across Tamil Nadu’s 11 smart cities the totals were 730 projects worth ₹17,954 crore.
Chennai’s share of that, about 6.1%, was the third smallest of the eleven. Tiruppur’s programme was worth ₹2,833 crore, Vellore’s ₹2,096 crore and Madurai’s ₹1,900 crore. The capital’s programme was not small because it received less money; each city got a similar central and state allocation. It was small because other cities raised or channelled more project money through their smart city companies.
The mission, which covered 100 cities, was extended to 31 March 2025 at the request of states, according to a December 2024 answer. These answers to Parliament are now the most complete public record of how each city’s programme ended.
How the money was set up
Each smart city ran its projects through a special purpose company. Under the mission’s funding pattern, the central government’s outlay was ₹48,000 crore for the 100 cities, of which ₹47,225 crore had been released by 15 November 2024 and ₹44,626 crore, or 94%, utilised, according to the answer of 19 December 2024. A February 2025 answer put central assistance claimed at ₹47,425 crore, 98.8% of the allocation, and utilisation at ₹45,506 crore (Lok Sabha, 13 February 2025).
State-wise figures in a December 2023 answer show the pattern in Tamil Nadu. Ten of the eleven cities had received ₹980 crore to ₹990 crore each in central and state funds by 24 November 2023. Chennai’s figure was higher, ₹1,058.58 crore, because it includes money released under CITIIS, a separate city investments programme within the mission. Chennai had used ₹939.36 crore of that, about 89%.
Chennai against the other ten
| City | Projects | Value, ₹ crore | Completed | Ongoing value, ₹ crore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiruppur | 28 | 2,833 | 26 | 37 |
| Vellore | 53 | 2,096 | 51 | 15 |
| Madurai | 16 | 1,900 | 16 | 0 |
| Salem | 114 | 1,861 | 114 | 0 |
| Tirunelveli | 82 | 1,819 | 80 | 13 |
| Tiruchirappalli | 83 | 1,548 | 79 | 233 |
| Coimbatore | 72 | 1,455 | 72 | 0 |
| Erode | 55 | 1,304 | 55 | 0 |
| Chennai | 49 | 1,104 | 48 | 7 |
| Thoothukudi | 75 | 1,038 | 75 | 0 |
| Thanjavur | 103 | 996 | 101 | 23 |
| Tamil Nadu | 730 | 17,954 | 717 | 328 |
Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 5515, 3 April 2025, data as on 4 March 2025
Two things stand out. First, the gap between funds released (about ₹1,000 crore per city) and project value (₹1,000 crore to ₹2,800 crore) shows that most cities pooled other money, from state schemes, local body funds or partners, into projects badged as smart city works. Tiruppur’s ₹2,833 crore programme ran on a release of ₹989 crore by November 2023.
Fewer, larger projects in Chennai
Second, Chennai’s programme was dominated by a few large items. Its 49 projects averaged about ₹22.5 crore each, ₹1,104 crore divided by 49, against about ₹16 crore for Salem’s 114 projects. The answers to Parliament list numbers and values, not project names, so the list of works has to be read from the city company’s own records.
Value of AMRUT 2.0 projects approved for Chennai district, about 3.5 times its smart city programme (Lok Sabha, 7 August 2025).
How the programme closed
The three answers trace Chennai’s last stretch. In November 2023, 45 of 48 projects were complete and three, worth ₹203.02 crore, were still running. By 15 November 2024 the count of completed projects was 47, worth ₹1,037.46 crore. By 4 March 2025, 48 of 49 were done. The 49th project appears in the 2025 table but not in 2023, which suggests the list was revised during the extension period.
| Date of data | Projects | Completed | Completed value, ₹ crore |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Nov 2023 | 48 | 45 | 893.86 |
| 15 Nov 2024 | Not given | 47 | 1,037.46 |
| 4 Mar 2025 | 49 | 48 | 1,097 |
Source: Lok Sabha Unstarred Questions 834 (7.12.2023), 4087 (19.12.2024) and 5515 (3.4.2025), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Statewide, Tamil Nadu reported 708 completed projects worth ₹17,470.09 crore in November 2024 and 717 worth ₹17,626 crore by March 2025. Nationally, 7,504 of 8,063 projects, worth ₹1,50,306 crore, were complete by March 2025.
Lists that shrank as the mission closed
The national figures moved in a way that deserves a note. In November 2023 the ministry reported work orders for 7,960 projects worth about ₹1,71,237 crore, of which 6,271 worth ₹1,16,269 crore were complete, with ₹78,749.88 crore of central and state funds released and ₹71,135.70 crore, or 90%, utilised (LS 834). By March 2025 the total had become 8,063 projects worth ₹1,64,545 crore. More projects, but about ₹6,700 crore less in value. The 2023 figure counts work orders and the 2025 figure total projects, so the bases differ slightly, but the fall suggests some works were dropped or re-costed; the answers do not say which.
Tamil Nadu followed the same path. Its November 2023 list had 724 projects worth ₹18,045.76 crore, with 93.85% of released funds utilised, the state total of ₹10,274.52 crore used out of ₹10,947.58 crore. By March 2025 it had 730 projects worth ₹17,954 crore. Tiruppur’s programme, the largest, slipped from ₹2,870.40 crore to ₹2,833 crore over the same period.
It’s often said the Smart Cities Mission was the main source of new urban infrastructure money for Chennai.
The record shows Chennai’s smart city programme totalled ₹1,104 crore. AMRUT 2.0 projects approved for Chennai district are worth ₹3,864 crore, per answers to the Lok Sabha in April and August 2025.
What this means for you
- Most of Chennai’s smart city works are now finished assets; maintenance passes to the Corporation and the city’s special purpose company.
- To find what a specific smart city project cost, ask the city company or file an RTI; Parliament’s answers give only totals.
- Compare cities on project value with care: much of it is money from other schemes routed through the smart city company.
- For current water and sewer works in Chennai, AMRUT 2.0 and Metro Water budgets are the bigger figures to follow.
What to watch
Pending
Completion of Chennai’s last ongoing smart city project, valued at ₹7 crore in March 2025.
Pending
The Union government’s decision on what becomes of the smart city special purpose companies after the mission period.
Checked against official sources on 23 October 2026. Figures and rules change; confirm on the linked official pages before relying on them.
Sources
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 834, Salient features of Smart Cities Mission, 07.12.2023 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs)
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4087, Projects and funds under SCM, 19.12.2024 (MoHUA)
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1405, Achievements of SCM, 13.02.2025 (MoHUA)
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 5515, Smart City projects under SCM, 03.04.2025 (MoHUA)
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3001, Projects covered under AMRUT 2.0 in Tamil Nadu, 07.08.2025 (MoHUA)
