Why in the News?
The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme has completed a decade since its launch.
About AMRUT
- Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme
- About: Launched in selected 500 cities and towns, focusing on the development of basic infrastructure in the sectors of Water supply, Sewerage and septage management, Storm water drainage, green spaces and parks, and non-motorised urban transport.
- AMRUT was subsumed in AMRUT 2.0 in 2021, with the urban transport component excluded from its scope.
AMRUT 2.0
- AMRUT 2.0 focuses only on water and sewerage and aims to provide tap water to all households in statutory towns and improve sewerage management in 500 AMRUT cities.
- Major Components:
- Pey Jal Survekshan: It is a challenge-based assessment in cities to evaluate service level benchmarks for water supply, reuse, sewerage, and water body conservation.
- Behaviour Change Communication: To promote water conservation and improve water use efficiency.
- Technology Sub-Mission: Promotes start-up ideas and private entrepreneurship through expert-screened pilot projects.
- Other Features:
- Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects: Mandatory in cities with over 1 million people.
- Outcome-Based Funding: Cities must submit roadmap to achieve set targets.
- Community Participation: with emphasis on women's self-help groups
- Promote circular economy of water: By focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation.
- Monitoring:
- National Level: An Apex Committee (AC) chaired by the Secretary, MoHUA.
- State Level: State High Powered Steering Committee (SHPSC) chaired by Chief Secretary of State.
Key Achievements Under AMRUT
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Limitations in implementation of AMRUT
- Inadequate Health Outcomes: India faces severe issues with water, sanitation, and hygiene, leading to an estimated 200,000 deaths annually.
- Environmental Concerns Unaddressed: Despite AMRUT 1.0's aim to reduce air pollution, worsening air quality led to the launch of the National Clean Air Programme in 2019.
- Implementation Delays: Some states, like Bihar and Assam, have not completed projects or fully utilized the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) model despite regular fund releases.
- Limited Coverage and Scope: AMRUT initially covered only 500 cities, leaving out numerous smaller towns.
- Overlap with Other Schemes: AMRUT may overlap with Smart Cities and Swachh Bharat Missions, causing fragmented funding and duplication of efforts.
Conclusion
Marking a decade, AMRUT has strengthened urban infrastructure, especially in water and sanitation. Going forward, it must adopt a holistic, people-centric approach, improve governance through ULB capacity building, expand to smaller towns, and integrate climate-resilient, nature-based solutions for sustainable urban development.