The Union Cabinet on October 12 approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT 2.0) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) till 2025-26.
The total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹2,77,000 crore. The financial outlay for SBM-U 2.0 is ₹1,41,600 crore which is 2.5 times more than the first phase of the mission, the ministry of housing and urban affairs said in a statement.
AMRUT 2.0 is a step towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat and with an aim of making the cities ‘water secure’ and ‘self-sustainable through circular economy of water, It targets universal coverage of water supply by providing household tap connections in all 4,378 statutory towns. 100% coverage of household sewerage/ septage management in 500 AMRUT cities is its other objective. The Mission targets to provide 2.68 crore tap connections and 2.64 crore sewer/ septage connections to achieve the intended outcomes.
The Mission will be monitored on a technology-based portal. The projects will be geo-tagged. There will be an endeavor to make it a paperless Mission. Cities will assess their water sources, consumption, future requirement and water losses through a city water balance plan. Based on this, city water action plans will be prepared which will be summed up as State Water Action Plan and will be approved by MoHUA, the statement said.
The funds for the projects will be shared by the Centre, State and ULBs. Central funds will be released to the States in three tranches based on allocation to the State as per State Water Action Plan.
Other key features of AMRUT 2.0 (U) include Pey Jal Survekshan which will encourage competition among cities for benchmarking urban water services. The Mission will also encourage mobilization of market finance by mandating implementation of 10% of worth of projects in cities with population above ten lakh through Public Private Participation.
It has a reform agenda focussed towards financial health and water security of ULBs. Meeting 20% of water demand through recycled water, reducing non-revenue water to less than 20% and rejuvenation of water bodies are major water related reforms. Reforms on property tax, user charges and enhancing credit worthiness of ULBs are other important reforms. ULBs will be rewarded with incentives on accomplishing the reforms, the statement said.
The Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 until 2025-26, will focus on sustainability of Open Defecation Free (ODF) outcomes, achieving scientific processing of Solid Waste in all cities, and managing Wastewater in cities with less than 1 lakh population in Census 2011.
A financial outlay of ₹1,41,600 crores has been finalized for SBM-U 2.0, including central share of ₹36,465 for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 which is over 2.5 times the financial outlay of ₹62,009 crores in the last phase of the Mission.
Over the next five years, the focus of SBM-U 2.0, launched on October 1, 2021 by Prime Minister Modi, will be on sustaining the sanitation and solid waste management outcomes achieved and accelerating the momentum generated, thus achieving the Mission’s vision of a Garbage Free Urban India.
The implementation of the Mission components will be done in a structured and time-bound manner, with thorough gap analysis of required infrastructure, detailed 5-year action plans, and annual action plans with timelines.The Mission will be completely paperless, digital, leveraging digital technology for complete transparency and accountability through GIS-mapped waste management infrastructure, robust user interface, online grievance redressal system, end-to-end online monitoring of projects starting from project creation to fund release, and project progress monitoring on integrated GIS-based platform, the statement said.
