Discussion on AMRUT

AMRUT is the abbreviation for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, an initiative by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. They started the scheme in the year 2015 and currently, it has completed 4,259 projects worth 27 crores. 

Objectives of the scheme

AMRUT was started with a mission to provide good quality basic facilities such as water supply to the poor. The scheme also aims to improve transport facilities and sewage water networks in urban areas to provide urban residents with a better quality of life. The scheme also aims to bring greenery through infrastructure in urban areas. 

The initiative gained immense media attention for the progress it made in the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Praise from across the country inspired them to start rainwater harvesting as well. The campaign is aptly named “Catch the Rain”.

Interestingly, according to the national rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand managed to stay in 15th and 24th positions, while Odisha always remains on top for effective implementation of the scheme. Chandigarh was the best performing city among Union Territories.

Components of AMRUT

• Water supply
• Sewerage
• Stormwater drainage
• Parks
• Transport

Eligibility for AMRUT

Let us understand who can apply for the AMRUT scheme.

• As of Census 2011, all cities and towns that had a population of over 1 lakh (Civilian areas)
• All Capital Cities/Towns of States/ UTs, not included above
• Cities/ Towns classified as  Heritage sites by the Ministry of Home and Urban Housing.
• Cities situated near rivers with a population of 75 thousand but less than one lakh.
• One city from each state with higher tourist traffic during the tourist season.

Thrust Areas of AMRUT

Water supply, sewage management, and sustainable solutions in urban housing facilities remain the major goals under the AMRUT scheme. The government also plans on bringing in more innovative and greener solutions to several issues that hinder life in urban areas.

AMRUT in Odisha

The officials selected 500 cities across India under this scheme, where the work on overall infrastructure development was to begin. Seven beautiful cities from Odisha selected under the scheme were Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Berhampur, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Balasore, Puri, and Sambalpur.

The Indian Express had recently reported on the progress of the scheme. According to the report, 46 projects worth 339 crores are completed in Bhubaneswar, 18 projects worth 225 crores are completed in Berhampur, and 20 projects are currently in progress in the seven cities.

Under the water supply initiatives, 11 projects are currently in progress. Although the target could not be achieved in terms of installing tap water connections and sewage networks, the state has made tremendous progress in implementing the scheme.

AMRUT in India

The scheme has completed seven years since its launch in 2015. The scheme conquered many milestones with regard to providing drinking water supply and sewerage connection.

Thanks to the scheme, 79 lakh households are now equipped with drinking water taps to manage their water needs. 45 lakh households were connected to a sewage network to improve their living conditions.

AMRUT: Why is it important?

While a large portion of the working class continues to live in substandard housing, they lack basic amenities such as access to safe drinking water and sewage services. AMRUT is a scheme that is helping to solve problems like this.

The scheme is beneficial in the following ways:

• Increasing the water security of cities
• Providing access to the sewage system in order to promote hygiene
• Reviving freshwater bodies to eradicate the root causes of water scarcity
• Protection of freshwater from pollution
• To improve the overall infrastructure, green spaces are being built.

AMRUT 2.0

In October of 2021, PM Modi launched the second phase of AMRUT, which shares the goals of AtmaNirbhar Bharat. Its main goal is to make the city’s water secure. The budget allotted for the second phase of the scheme is 2,99,000 crore.

The objective of the second phase of AMRUT is:

• To revive water bodies 
• To provide complete sewage systems in urban areas
• Treat wastewater and proper utilisation
• To protect the freshwater from water pollution

Sustainability of the Scheme

1. Murugaiah et. al. from the Davangere University, Karnataka, analysed the scheme from the perspective of sustainability. He did a comparative study of the two schemes – Smart City Mission and AMRUT. As per the reports, AMRUT made the best use of non-renewable resources in highly populated urban areas, implementing smarter, greener solutions.

As a part of bringing sustainable solutions, the scheme is designed to make the cities waste-free and water secure.

Conclusion

The urban areas are abundant with resources and are known to provide the highest quality of life, which attracts people in rural areas to come to the city. However, a major portion of the migrating population is the working class, who depend on daily wages to make a living. In such households without a connection to a reliable water source, they are prone to disease. The school-going children are affected by the poor living conditions as well.

The success of AMRUT Yojna brings a ray of hope for people living under such conditions. Families are provided with tap water connections and sewerage facilities. However small they might be, such facilities make a significant impact on the overall quality of living.