Setting in motion the process of urban transformation to provide better living and drive economic growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched three ambitious urban projects — 100 Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Housing for All in urban areas. Together, the three projects will entail an investment of over Rs3 lakh crore in the next five years.
Pointing out that for the first time steps have been taken to develop 100 cities simultaneously, Modi said that private property developers should not be allowed to decide how a city should grow and residents and city leadership should take a call on such issue.
“This is not just a paper-based programme. Stakeholders of all kinds have been consulted, including financial world. This Government is committed to safeguarding the rights of the consumers at all times,” he said after launching the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission, and Housing for All (Urban).
As part of the three missions, the Government plans to create 2 crore houses by 2022 by providing a central grant of Rs1 lakh to Rs2.3 lakh per house by way of a 6.5 per cent interest subvention scheme, to create 100 Smart Cities through a Rs48,000-crore initiative, and push for urban infrastructure upgrade for 500 cities in a Rs50,000-crore scheme.
“Many people are wondering about what exactly Smart City is, but one does not need to think a lot. Smart City is a city that provides more than what a citizen expects. Before s/he wants it, we provide it,” the Prime Minister said, adding that urbanisation should be viewed as an opportunity and urban centres should be viewed as growth engines.
“Under these schemes we can go ahead and we can do it together (Centre and State). India is rapidly urbanising. Every year Hindustan gives birth to a small country,” he said. Smart City will be selected through a competition among cities proposed by the States while 500 cities are being identified under AMRUT.
Referring to Smart City, Modi said, “For the first time in India, a challenge is being floated, in which the residents of urban India could contribute in the formulation of development visions of their cities.” Those cities which were able to competitively meet the required parameters would be developed as Smart Cities.
“This competitive mechanism would end the top-down approach, and lead to people-centric urban development,” he said, adding, “These urban development schemes were not prepared by the Government alone, but involved perhaps the biggest consultation exercise ever taken by the Union Government, involving all stakeholders and examining global best practices.”
Stressing that all schemes for urban development should move forward based on people’s participation, Modi said, “There is a lack of holistic vision about urban planning, and expansion is driven not by the administrators of a city, but by property developers. Through AMRUT, the aim of the Government is to give cities themselves the chance to plan their future growth,” he said.
The Prime Minister also stressed that aspirations of migrants from rural areas, and slum dwellers, should be balanced with the changing global environment and said ensuring a good life for them is the Government’s responsibility.
lamenting the state of affairs in urban areas, he said, “If this had been done 25-30 years ago, it would have led to good results today, but better late than never. Schemes which had a clear vision and were people-centric, were the need of the hour.”
Seeking replication of best practices from across the country, the Prime Minister mentioned Hyderabad’s tax collection system, Karnataka’s efforts for solid waste management, and Chhattisgarh’s work to eliminate open defecation.
Chhattisgarh, which is fighting Maoist menace, is making an all out effort to make the state free from open defecation, he said. Mentioning the challenge of rising population, he said all possible avenues should be explored to find the resources for urban development.
On the housing scheme, he said, “A house is a turning point in the lives of poor, which leads towards a better life and the government’s effort was to not just provide a house, but to provide the right environment to live life to the fullest.”
Citing the existing housing shortage of 2 crore units, he said India would complete 75 years of Independence in 2022, and by then, “it is our responsibility to provide a house for everyone”.
The infrastructure sector is upbeat about the launch of these three mega projects. “The Prime Minister’s three mega flagship urban schemes aimed at developing cities as engines of growth is an extraordinary step, and I welcome it,” said Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC).