Enthused by the success of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) aimed at providing basic infrastructure in cities, the NDA government is contemplating to introduce Amrut Plus scheme in the next couple of months and include more cities.
If this happens, it would be the first time in the history of India that the second phase of a scheme would be launched even when the first phase was underway.
“The AMRUT scheme has been a grand success. The state governments are putting pressure on the Union government to include more cities. Though its first phase will end on March 31, 2020, the second phase coined Amrut Plus will be launched in the next six months,” Union minister of state of Urban Development Hardeep S Puri said while talking to reporters in lucknow on Friday.
Puri said that presently 500 cities were covered under AMRUT scheme, which was launched on June 25, 2015. “Over 91 per cent of the funds for AMRUT scheme have been utilised so far,” he said.
The Union minister claimed that the PM Awas Yojana (Urban) programme was running before time as against the target to construct 11 million houses by 2022, over 1.54 million houses have been constructed so far. “Every month, ground work for 3 to 5 lakh houses are completed. Going by this pace, the government will achioeve its target by 2019,” he said.
Puri lauded the Yogi government for its work in PM Awas Yojana saying that in the last 16 months, 4 lakh houses were constructeds.
Talking about Smart City project, the Union minister claimed that it was progressing at a fast pace and now Swacchatta campaign has been included in it.
“We have launched the Smarty City project in 100 cities including 10 in UP in January, 2016. In doing so, India became the third country in the world after China and Nigeria to beautify its urban areas since rural areas were fast turning into urban,” he said.
When asked about an RTI reply claiming that less than 1 per cent budget has been released so far, Urban Development Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra clarified that against a total budgetary grant of Rs 77,640 crore till date, Rs 70,569 crore has been spent on AMRUT scheme.
He further said that under Amrut scheme, 2 lakh kms of sewage pipeline would be laid while 60 cities in the state would get piped drinking water facilities.
Puri also inaugurated the third anniversary of developing basic urban amenities in the country through three schemes of Amrut, Smart City and PM Awas in lucknow on Friday.
UP Urban development minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said that the BJP government in the state was working round the clock for urban modernisation.