More than 30 smart road projects in Thiruvananthapuram under the Smart City Mission will be scrapped, including MG Road. They will be replaced by other infrastructure projects. This decision was made this week during the board meeting of Smart City Mission, chaired by the chief secretary. All stakeholders including the Municipal Corporation, Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) and Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL), attended the meeting.

The meeting decided to continue the ongoing projects by re-tendering the work. However, the smart road projects yet to be launched should be scrapped and the money earmarked for these projects would be spent on other projects that could be completed before the June 2023 deadline.

The meeting decided to continue the work, which includes re-tendering 14 roads out of 23 road projects under the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), and 40 roads out of 67 road projects under the city company. The other projects that have not even started with the preparatory work will be scrapped. The lack of efficient contractors and excessive delays in the implementation of the projects would be the reasons for scrapping the projects.

Previously, SCTL, the executing body of the project, had set aside Rs 3 billion for the project, and this money is likely to be spent on new projects.

The company's secretary, Binu Francis, said the civil society body has made suggestions for projects that could be implemented before June next year.