Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have been appreciated for the progress made under AMRUT Mission (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation). Both the states were also requested to initiate activities under the “Catch the Rain” campaign. The objective of this campaign is to conserve/harvest every drop of water. This campaign incorporates rainwater harvesting in all the structures of the cities.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in June 2015 with the focus to establish infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation by implementing urban revival projects. Rajasthan was the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

 

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Country

India

Prime Minister(s)

Narendra Modi

Ministry

MoUD

Key people

Hardeep Singh Puri

Launched

25 June 2015; 6 years ago 

Status

Active

 

Mission

Providing basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households and build amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged is a national priority. 

The purpose of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is to

  • Ensure that every household has access to a tap with the assured supply of water and a sewerage connection.
  • Increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces (e.g. parks) and
  • Reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling). All these outcomes are valued by citizens, particularly women, and indicators and standards have been prescribed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA ) in the form of Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs).

The Priority zone of the Mission is water supply followed by sewerage.

However, the pursuit of better outcomes will not stop with the provision of taps and sewerage connections to all (universal coverage). Other benchmarks will be targeted following a step-by-step process after achieving the benchmark of universal coverage. Such a gradual process of achieving benchmarks is called “incrementalism”. This does not mean that other SLBs are less important, but that in the incremental process SLBs are achieved gradually according to National Priorities. In the case of urban transport the benchmark will be to reduce pollution in cities while construction and maintenance of storm water drains are expected to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, flooding in cities, thereby making cities resilient.

Earlier, the MoHUA used to give project-by-project sanctions. In the AMRUT this has been replaced by approval of the State Annual Action Plan once a year by the MoHUA and the States have to give project sanctions and approval at their end. In this way, the AMRUT makes States equal partners in planning and implementation of projects, thus actualizing the spirit of cooperative federalism. A sound institutional structure is a foundation to make Missions successful. Therefore, Capacity Building and a set of Reforms have been included in the Mission. Reforms will lead to improvement in service delivery, mobilization of resources and making municipal functioning more transparent and functionaries more accountable, while Capacity Building will empower municipal functionaries and lead to timely completion of projects.

 

Mission Components

The components of the AMRUT consist of capacity building, reform implementation, water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage, urban transport and development of green spaces and parks. During the process of planning, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will strive to include some smart features in the physical infrastructure components. The details of the Mission components are given below.

  • Water supply systems including augmentation of existing water supply, water treatment plants and universal metering.
  • Rehabilitation of old water supply systems, including treatment plants.
  • Rejuvenation of water bodies specifically for drinking water supply and recharging of ground water.
  • Special water supply arrangement for difficult areas, hill and coastal cities, including those having water quality problems (e.g. arsenic, fluoride)

Sewerage

  • Decentralised, networked underground sewerage systems, including augmentation of existing sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants.
  • Rehabilitation of old sewerage system and treatment plants.
  • Recycling of water for beneficial purposes and reuse of wastewater. 

Storm Water Drainage

Construction and improvement of drains and storm water drains in order to reduce and eliminate flooding.
Urban Transport

Footpaths/ walkways, sidewalks, foot over-bridges and facilities for non-motorised transport (e.g. bicycles).

Multi-level parking.

Green space / parks

Development of green space and parks with special provision for children, senior citizens and Divyang friendly components.

 

Eligibility

SAAP(State Annual Action Plans) is a consolidated plan of all the city level SLIPs(Service Level Improvement Plan) of all proposed AMRUT cities in the respective states. A formulation on City level SLIP is done based on diligent estimation of ambiguities in the availability of infrastructure like water supply, sewerage network, draining system, transportation facilities, available digital and internet facilities, industrial facilities etc. 135 litres per capita per day is another factor in the process including water supply and sewerage connections to all urban households.