Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

The NDA Government took cognizance of the importance of sewerage network and uninterrupted water supply and launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation in 2015 as one of the many initiatives to ramp up the infrastructure of the country to meet the requirements needed to make India a manufacturing hub. The total money to be invested in AMRUT for five years from FY2015-16 to FY2019-20 will be Rs. 50,000 crore and the Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. An evaluation of the success of the scheme will be done after five years based on which the decision to continue or discontinue the scheme will be made.

Mission – The mission of AMRUT is to provide basic facilities such as water supply, sewage network, road network et cetera to all the urban centers of the country. The underlying objective is to improve the quality of life of the people of the country, especially the poor and disadvantaged sections of the society who suffer the most due the lack of these basic amenities. All the infrastructure revamp must have a direct impact in improving the lives of the people and fulfilling basic needs. Therefore, the objectives of AMRUT are:

1. Each household has access to water and is connected to sewerage network.
2. Developing greenery and providing basic amenities
3. Reducing pollution by bettering public transport and non-motorized transport

Principle of Incrementalism will be followed and after universal coverage of the above stated objectives, focus will be shifted to other needs.

The Ministry of Urban Development used to give sanctions to projects one by one but, this has been replaced by an Annual Action Plan which will be sanctioned by the MoUD annually. These Annual Action Plans will be formulated by states and these states will have to sanction this plan at their end. Cooperative federalism will be realized as the states will be equal partners in this mission.

The major thrust areas are –

1. Capacity building at Individual as well as Institutional level
2. Reform Implementation

• Water Supply
  • Augmentation of existing water supply, treatment plants and universal metering
  • Rehabilitation of old water supply systems, including treatment plants
  • Vitalization of water bodies specifically for drinking water supply
  • Recharging ground water
  • Special water supply arrangement for difficult and areas which have water quality problems

Septage management

1. Faecal Sludge Management- cleaning, transportation and treatment in a cost effective manner
2. Mechanical and Biological cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and recovery of operational cost in full

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

1. Creating storm water drains to reduce flooding

• Developing Pedestrian, Non-transport and public transport facilities
  1. Ferry vessels for inland waterways (excluding port/bay infrastructure) and buses
  2. Footpaths/ walkways, sidewalks, foot over-bridges and facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. bicycles)
• Enhancing amenity value of the cities

Action Plan –

To decide the cities which will get the benefits of this Scheme, there is a criterion which needs to be fulfilled. A total of 500 cities will be brought under the scheme. The terms of the criteria are –

1. All Cities and Towns with a population of over one lakh with notified Municipalities, including Cantonment Boards (Civilian areas),
2. All Capital Cities/Towns of States/ UTs, not covered in above ,

• All Cities/ Towns classified as Heritage Cities by MoUD under the HRIDAY

1. Scheme,
2. Thirteen Cities and Towns on the stem of the main rivers with a population above 75,000 and less than 1 lakh, and
3. Ten Cities from hill states, islands and tourist destinations (not more than one from each State).