4 Indian Cities That Sold Dreams to the Middle Class but Never Fulfilled Them

The 2026 India AI Impact Summit became a topic of discussion for multiple reasons this year- controversy, protests, and billion-dollar investments. The summit led to the announcement of a new emerging AI hub in India: Vizag (Visakhapatnam), Andhra Pradesh. Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared his disbelief that the city he once passed by on a train while traveling to IIT Kharagpur would emerge as an AI city in the near future.

He further teased Google’s $15 billion investment in the city, which is expected to create jobs and provide cutting-edge AI solutions to people and businesses.

The goal of making India a hub of smart cities has been a longstanding dream. However, some dreams fail to materialize, while others fall short of expectations. In some cases, these dreams have turned into unequal bargains between the public and the wealthy. The stories of the 100 smart cities offer a clear example.

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Back in 2015, during his first term as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi announced the Smart City Mission (SCM), through which the government pledged to improve the quality of life in 100 cities. According to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) report, 94% of the 8,067 projects, worth ₹1,51,361 crore, have been completed.

Additionally, more than 500 projects worth ₹13,043 crore have reached an advanced stage of implementation. However, the reality and the dream remain miles apart.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, which created Telangana, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s dream project began its initial stages of implementation. Amaravati was introduced as the capital of Andhra Pradesh in 2015 and was presented to the public as the next big smart city that would reshape the country. But did it?

As part of infrastructure and national development, the Amaravati project required around 54,000 acres of land, most of which consisted of agricultural land. Land prices rose sharply amid hopes of building a smart city in the near future. Instead of acquiring the land directly, the government offered people three options.

The primary option was the Land Pooling Scheme under the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014. Under this scheme, landowners would receive a portion of developed land in Amaravati, along with additional support measures and benefits, once the project was completed.

The second option was to exchange land for monetary compensation. The third option was a negotiated arrangement between the landowners and the government, allowing owners to decide whether they wanted land or financial compensation in return.

In the end, 21,374 households chose the Land Pooling Scheme, hoping to receive land in the developed Amaravati city, and were promised that the project would be completed within the next 10 years.

Ten years later, the Amaravati project remains an unfulfilled dream. The project returned from its years-long hiatus in 2025, when it was announced that Naidu’s longstanding vision was back on track with support from both the central and state governments. Between 2019 and 2024, many farmers filed legal petitions and staged protests demanding the continuation of the Amaravati project, which had been halted after making little progress.

The state fell into a debt trap and was unable to fund the ambitious project, while several Singaporean and Japanese firms scaled down their involvement. According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), by 2019 more than ₹15,000 crore had been invested in the project, yet few development promises were fulfilled and progress in Amaravati remained minimal.

Another example of a failed smart city project is Lavasa City, more popularly known as the “ghost city” of Maharashtra. The Lavasa project was visioned as India’s first privately built smart city, located in the hills of Maharashtra. The project began in 2000 with the aim of building homes with scenic views, luxury hotels, and tourist attractions. It covered around 24,000 acres of land and was planned to include five sub-cities.

Years later, the dream turned into a nightmare as the Lavasa project became entangled in legal hurdles and environmental controversies, which ultimately brought development to a halt. The project was accused of violating environmental regulations because it was being built in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The Print reported that more than a thousand property owners purchased land, and around 500 buyers invested in homes that were never completed. The report further stated that more than 400 houses were built but were never sold.

Today, the Lavasa project stands completely abandoned.

Under the Smart City Mission, Dholera Smart City in Gujarat also played an important role in the vision of building India’s first greenfield smart city. The project aimed to create a hub that would generate jobs while developing a global manufacturing and innovation center for the country’s growth.

The Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) was announced in 2013 by then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. During the project, hundreds of people were allegedly scammed into buying fake plots with promises of high returns. In 2025, two brothers from Rajasthan reportedly duped around 70,000 people into purchasing fraudulent land. The duo reportedly defrauded investors of ₹2,676 crore.

Among the 100 cities selected under the Smart City Mission, Faridabad was one of the cities envisioned to develop into an economically sustainable hub. As of February 22, 2026, nearly 60% of the 112 development projects under the Haryana Smart City Mission in Karnal and Faridabad had experienced significant delays.

According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, these delays were caused by legal hurdles related to land, delays in project clearances, and other administrative issues. The Hindustan Times reported that the smart city projects in Karnal and Faridabad are currently facing a funding shortfall of ₹2,070.96 crore.

The delayed projects of Amaravati and Faridabad, along with the abandoned smart city of Lavasa, are examples of how such initiatives can create hope and take it away at the same time.

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