Smart Project, Zero Accountability: All 65 Digital Kiosks In City Now Defunct

Nagpur: The Smart City experiment is facing uncomfortable scrutiny after an answer to RTI query revealed that all 65 ‘smart kiosks' installed across the city are completely defunct, while the now-wound-up special purpose vehicle (SPV) Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd (NSSCDCL) has failed to disclose how much public money was actually spent on the project.The kiosks, once showcased as symbols of Nagpur'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". From Dharampeth and Laxmi Nagar to Hanuman Nagar and other prominent localities, not a single kiosk remains operational.What has triggered sharper outrage is the RTI response itself even though the state govt closed the special purpose vehicle from May 1 this year by issuing a govt resolution.Despite the city spending entire 490 crore central Smart City grant by March 31, 2026, NSSCDCL in an RTI reply to activist Abhay Kolarkar said the expenditure incurred specifically on the 65 kiosks is "not available". The disclosure has raised serious questions over financial transparency, auditing and project monitoring within one of Nagpur's flagship urban missions.Urban activists questioned how a public infra project, executed under a centrally-funded mission, could have no readily available expenditure records. "If the kiosks were installed, somebody approved payments, contractors were engaged, bills were cleared and maintenance contracts existed. How can the spending suddenly become not available?" asked Kolarkar.The collapse of the kiosk network has also exposed wider pattern of "install-and-forget" infrastructure increasingly visible across Smart City projects.The city's "modern traffic police glass cabins" have now become another example. Originally conceived as part of a proposal for 150 smart police cabins, the project was later revised to 78 booths constructed at a cost of 4.37 crore, including taxes. Though officially marked as completed and handed over to Nagpur Police, many of the cabins remain visibly underutilised or locked at junctions across the city.Traffic personnel themselves have informally questioned the practicality of these structures, especially during Nagpur's extreme summer heat, limited ventilation and operational inconvenience at busy intersections. RTI records state instructions regarding their actual usage now rest with the police department, effectively distancing NSSCDCL from operational responsibility after project completion.While NSSCDCL's project files continue to classify the kiosks and police booths as completed infrastructure achievements, ground reality tells a different story — dark screens, locked cabins and unanswered questions over where public money went and whether citizen needs were ever central to the planning process.The disclosure is now expected to intensify demands for a full public audit of Smart City assets, operational status reports and accountability for failed or abandoned projects executed under the 490 crore mission.