AMRUT Mission: Full Form, Purpose, Components and Key Facts

Recently in the news that Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have been appreciated for the progress made under the AMRUT Mission.

AMRUT Mission is Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.

It has been requested to both the states to initiate activities under the “Catch the Rain” campaign. The aim of the campaign is to conserve or harvest every drop of water. It also incorporates rainwater harvesting in all the structures of the cities.

What is AMRUT Mission?

It was launched in June 2015 by the Housing and Urban Affairs. The objective is to ensure every household has access to a tap with the assured supply of water and a sewerage connection.

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Other objectives of AMRUT Mission

The Mission’s priority zone is to supply water followed by sewerage.

To increase the amenity values of the cities. This has been done by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces like parks.

To reduce pollution. And for this switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport like walking and cycling.

What are the components of the AMRUT Mission?

Components are Capacity building, reform implementation, water supply, sewerage and septage management, stormwater drainage, urban transport and development of green spaces and parks.

The aim of the reform is to improve the delivery of citizen services, bringing down the cost of delivery. Also, to improve health, augmenting resources and enhancing transparency. It also consists of the replacement of street lights with LED lights.

The major components of the project are Water Supply system, Sewerage, Septage, Storm Water Drainage, Urban Transport, Green Space and Parks, Reforms management and support, Capacity building etc. in that order of priority.

The first charge in the Mission is the universal coverage of water supply and sewerage services. There is a maximum allocation of 2.5% of project cost for development of parks with children and elderly-friendly features.

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) within the form of Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs).

AMRUT is a central sponsored Scheme with the total outlay of Rs 50,000 crores for five years from FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20.

As it is unable to meet the set targets for urban renewal in 500 cities, therefore, the Centre has extended the mission period of AMRUT up to 31st March, 2021.

What is Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA)?

About State Annual Action Plan (SAAP)

In planning and implementation of projects, AMRUT has made states equal partners by approval of SAAP once a year by MoHUA and states have to give project sanctions and approval at their end and is the actualisation of cooperative federalism.

Who supervises the Mission?

An Apex Committee (AC) which is chaired by the Secretary, MoHUA and comprising representatives of related Ministries and organisations supervises the Mission.

Uttarakhand And in Himachal Pradesh: Status of the AMRUT Mission

In AMRUT’s National rankings which is performance-based: Himachal Pradesh is ranked 15th and Uttarakhand 24th. Odisha topped the rankings.

The Online Building Permission System (OBPS) has been implemented by both the States in their Mission cities. OBPS may be a part of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and will be implemented in all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) apart from Mission cities.

In all the Mission cities in the two States, the Credit Rating work has been completed.

Basically, credit rating is an assessment of a ULB’s ability to pay its financial obligations. It has been informed to both the states that the Ministry has developed a common Dashboard for all the Missions like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban, Smart Cities Mission of the Ministry where information concerning all States/UT and cities would be available.

This facility may be used by the States/UTs for monitoring the progress. States were requested to update the details of the Missions regularly. It is because the progress would be updated in the portal or dashboard on regular basis. And this data is used for monitoring, reviewing and assessment of monthly rankings on the progress among the states.

Source: PIB

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