Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): Objectives & Features

India is home to 1.38 billion people, and approximately over 6% of this population do not have access to potable water supply. AMRUT Mission, introduced by the Indian Government, aims to alleviate this issue and focuses on building urban infrastructure to supply potable water to proposed 'Mission cities'. If you want to know more about this scheme in detail, keep reading.

The full form of the AMRUT scheme is Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.   Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Central Indian Government launched AMRUT Yojana keeping the following objectives as its main purpose:

• This Mission ensures that every Indian household has access to tap water supplies and proper sewerage.
• It encourages the development of adequately maintained open spaces such as parks, greenery and additional amenities to augment cities' values.
• It aims to reduce pollution by promoting public transport or developing facilities for non-motorised transportation.

The Ministry of Urban Development has recommended implementation standards in SLBs or Service Level Benchmarks.

Take a look at the primary features of AMRUT Yojana mentioned below:

• As mentioned earlier, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation focuses on building a proper infrastructure associated with water supply, stormwater and sewerage connection. The development of parks and open green spaces are encouraged to meet children's needs.
• The Indian Government has selected 500 cities to implement this AMRUT scheme.
• The Centre will allocate a 10% budget to states and Union Territories depending on the performance of the previous year's reforms.
• Central assistance will cover 50% of total project expenditures for cities and towns, housing a population up to 10 lakhs. Similarly, it is 1/3rd of project expenses for cities and towns with a population of more than 10 lakhs.
• The State Government will transfer allocated funds to urban local authorities within 7 days of fund transfer by the Central Government. States or ULBs should not utilise funds for other purposes; otherwise, it will attract a penalty over the concerned state. The Centre can also take strict action over that concerned state.
• AMRUT utilises Communication Technologies and Digital Technologies or Information to improve the quality of urban services. Besides, it will reduce the consumption of resources and project costs and encourage engagement with citizens actively.

The Indian Government has selected cities that are eligible to participate in this scheme based on the following criteria:

• Cities and towns with a population of more than 1 lakhs with Municipalities and Cantonment Board according to Census 2011
• Capitals of cities, towns of states and Union Territories which are not mentioned above
• Cities and towns, categorised as Heritage Cities by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Hriday scheme
• 13 cities with more than 75,000 but less than 1 lakh people are located along the main rivers. 10 cities from hilly states, tourist and island destinations are eligible for this scheme (not more than one city should be selected from each state).

There is no online or offline method of application for the AMRUT Yojana. However, this centrally sponsored scheme follows the below-mentioned procedure for its implementation:

• The Apex Committee provides an annual budget to Indian states.
• State Level High Powered Steering Committee obtains SLIPs – Service Level Improvement Plan, developed to arrange water supply and sewerage connections to all parts of a city.
• SLIPs are consolidated into the State Action Annual Plan. After examining it, the apex committee approves the SAAP for execution.
• The Urban Local Bodies get Detailed Project Reports of recognised projects. The State Level High Powered Steering Committee approves and SLTC appraises DPRs.
• The authorities will start with implementation after the financial and technical approval of the DPRs. Accordingly, the Centre will release funds in three instalments.

Thus, this is all about the AMRUT Mission. The significant advantage of this Mission is that it will help to bridge infrastructural gaps in prevalent states, including supplies of potable water and additional development of amenities.