The Government of India launched the AMRUT mission with the aim of providing basic civic amenities like water supply, sewerage, urban transport, parks as to improve the quality of life for all especially the poor and the disadvantaged.
The Mission
- 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)
- Reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling).
- The indicators and standards have been prescribed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA ) in the form of Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs).
- An Apex Committee (AC), chaired by the Secretary, MoHUA and comprising representatives of related ministries and organisations will supervise the mission.
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 In the AMRUT, this has been replaced by approval of the State Annual Action Plan once a year by the MoHUA and the States have to give project sanctions and approval at their end.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.
Coverage of the Mission
Five hundred cities have been selected under AMRUT. The category of cities that have been selected under AMRUT is given below:
- All cities and towns with a population of over one lakh with notified municipalities as per Census 2011, including Cantonment Boards (Civilian areas)
- All capital cities/ towns of states/ UTs, not covered in above
- All cities/ towns classified as Heritage Cities by MoHUA under the HRIDAY scheme
- 13 cities and towns on the stem of the main rivers with a population above 75,000 and less than 1 lakh
- 10 cities from hill states, islands and tourist destinations (not more than one from each State).
Thrust Areas of the Mission
- Water Supply
. 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 groundwater.
. 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 systems 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.
