Urban development schemes 

Source: PIB and Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs

It is mentioned that the Past four years of Urban Transformation has witnessed giant strides by the flagship Missions and programmes of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.  The Missions of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation & Smart City Mission are not only transforming the Urban Landscape of the country but also ensuring ease of living for the citizens. Following are the some of the important schemes/programmes related to urban planning

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 

The 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 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)

Mission Components

The components of the AMRUT consist of;

• Capacity building. 
• Reform implementation, water supply, sewerage and septage management.
• Stormwater 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. 

Cooperative federalism under AMRUT

• 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 In the AMRUT this has been replaced by approval of the State Annual Action Plan once a year by the MoHUA and the States have to give project sanctions and approval at their end.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, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban)
• Thus actualizing the spirit of cooperative federalism

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 

• It is planned to be implemented during 2015-2022 and which will provide central assistance to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other implementing agencies through States/UTs for: 
  1. In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation 
  2. Credit Linked Subsidy 
  3. Affordable Housing in Partnership 
  4. Subsidy for Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement. 

• Credit linked subsidy component will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
• Programme launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA), in Mission mode envisions provision of Housing for All by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
• The mission will support construction of houses upto 30 square meter carpet area with basic civic infrastructure. States/UTs will have flexibility in terms of determining the size of house and other facilities at the state level in consultation with the Ministry but without any enhanced financial assistance from Centre. 
• Slum redevelopment projects and Affordable Housing projects in partnership should have basic civic infrastructure like water, sanitation, sewerage, road, electricity etc. Urban Local Bodies (ULB) should ensure that individual houses under credit linked interest subsidy and beneficiary led construction should have provision for these basic civic services.

Smart cities Mission

It is an urban development programme launched by the government of India with the mission to develop 100 cities across the country and making them citizen friendly and sustainable. The Ministry of Housing  Urban Affairs is implementing agency of the mission.

Smart Cities focus on their most pressing needs and on the greatest opportunities to improve lives. They tap a range of approaches ;

• Digital and information technologies
• Urban planning best practices
• Public-private partnerships, and policy change – to make a difference. 
• They always put people first.

In the approach to the Smart Cities Mission, the objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a light house to other aspiring cities. The Smart Cities Mission is meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City, catalysing the creation of similar Smart Cities in various regions and parts of the country.

Features of smart cities 

Some typical features of comprehensive development in Smart Cities are described below;

• Promoting mixed land use in area based developments–planning for ‘unplanned areas’ containing a range of compatible activities and land uses close to one another in order to make land use more efficient. The States will enable some flexibility in land use and building bye-laws to adapt to change.
• Housing and inclusiveness – expand housing opportunities for all.
• Creating walkable localities –reduce congestion, air pollution and resource depletion, boost local economy, promote interactions and ensure security. The road network is created or refurbished not only for vehicles and public transport, but also for pedestrians and cyclists, and necessary administrative services are offered within walking or cycling distance;
• Preserving and developing open spaces – parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces in order to enhance the quality of life of citizens, reduce the urban heat effects in Areas and generally promote eco-balance.
• Promoting a variety of transport options – Transit Oriented Development (TOD), public transport and last mile para-transport connectivity.
• Making governance citizen-friendly and cost effective – increasingly rely on online services to bring about accountability and transparency, especially using mobiles to reduce cost of services and providing services without having to go to municipal offices. Forming e-groups to listen to people and obtain feedback and use online monitoring of programs and activities with the aid of cyber tour of worksites.
• Giving an identity to the city – based on its main economic activity, such as local cuisine, health, education, arts and craft, culture, sports goods, furniture, hosiery, textile, dairy, etc;

Applying Smart Solutions to infrastructure and services in area-based development in order to make them better. For example, making Areas less vulnerable to disasters, using fewer resources, and providing cheaper services