The Union government has sought details on the present status of Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) established in Tamil Nadu’s Smart Cities, asking how far the facilities are functioning and what work has been carried out through them.
Under the Smart Cities Mission announced in 2015 to upgrade 100 cities nationwide, 11 cities were selected in Tamil Nadu. As part of the programme, ICCCs were planned to enable round-the-clock monitoring of key civic services.
These centres are intended to oversee functions such as sanitation operations, drinking water and drainage systems, and traffic management on a 24x7 basis. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had provided funds in 2021 to set up ICCCs in the 11 selected cities.
In the first phase, ICCCs were inaugurated in August 2021 in nine cities—Chennai, Vellore, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi—at a cost of Rs 107 crore.
With around five years having passed, the Centre has decided to review their performance. Citing reports that the centres are largely inactive except during disaster situations, it has directed the state to submit information on activities undertaken through the ICCCs and their current operational status.
