Initiatives taken to improve Urban infrastructure in this area

Published: 30th Jan, 2020

Initiatives taken to improve Urban infrastructure in this area

Atal mission for rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) mission was launched by the government in order to harness the opportunities in India.
Its aim is to provide basic services like water supply to all households, significantly upgrade sewerage and septage and provide for non- motorized transport and public amenities like parks and green spaces at least one in each city, thus improving the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged.

Coverage under the AMRUT Scheme

AMRUT: Aligned with the needs of Urbanizing India Co-operative Federalism- State Governments have been empowered to appraise, approve and sanction projects for their AMRUT cities- a departure from the erstwhile Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) wherein individual projects were sanctioned by the then Ministry of Urban Development.
Framework for institutional reforms- AMRUT lays major emphasis on institutional reforms which aim to provide governance and institutional capacities of ULBs.
Principles of ‘instrumentalism’ and prioritization- A step-wise approach towards service- level benchmarking by the ULBs, a principle of ‘incrementalism’ has been introduced under the Mission, which is the gradual process of achieving the benchmarks. Recognizing the urgent water and sanitation needs, states had to prioritize water supply and sewerage projects- water supply being the first priority.
Incentivizing over penalizing- In order to encourage states and reward their initiatives constructively, reform implementation is incentivised under AMRUT- 10% of the budgetary allocation is earmarked for reform incentive and it is over and above the allocation for projects. This amount is untied and can be used on any item recognized under AMRUT with or without state/ULB share.
Monitoring of the Mission- Programme monitoring is being done at various levels. At state level, State High Power Steering Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary monitors and approves the Mission projects in its entirety. At Central level, Apex Committee chaired by the Secretary, MoHUA, approves State Annual Action Plans and monitors the progress.
Also, projects are monitored on real- time basis via Mission MIS Dashboard with geo-tagging of all projects.
In addition, District Level Regional Review and Monitoring Committee conducts detailed scrutiny of the projects
Independent Monitoring Review Agency (IRMA) ha been appointed for each state reviews and monitors the progress of the mission.