NEW DELHI: After completing the targets of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the ministry of urban affairs will launch the second version of the flagship mission on October 1. Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0, with an outlay of Rs 1.41 lakh crore will focus on sludge management, waste water treatment, source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastics and control of air pollution by waste management in construction and demolition.
PM Narendra Modi will launch Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 on October 1. The SBM (U) flagship mission of the government has completed seven years with the mission allocation of Rs 14,013 crore. The objectives of SBM-U are to make entire urban India Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 100% management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated.
As on date, out of 4,372 urban local bodies, 4,369 ULBs have been certified as ODF and 3305 ULBs have been certified as ODF+. Besides, a cleanliness survey, Swachh Survekshan (SS), is being carried out annually to inculcate healthy competitive spirit amongst ULBs and states by ranking them on the basis of their population.
Besides releasing Central Share (CS) of funds to states and Union Territories (UTs), the Centre has introduced ODF+, ODF++ and Water+ protocols to impart further impetus to sustain the ODF outcomes. Under these protocols the entire value chain of sanitation is addressed.
The PM will also launch AMRUT 2.0 on the same day. The government will launch the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban), with an outlay of Rs 2.8 lakh crore to ensure universal water supply in all 4,378 urban local bodies across the country.
Spending on urban development on rise
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is the first focused national water Mission and was first launched in June, 2015 in 500 cities covering 60% of the urban population. All cities having population above 1 lakh are covered. AMRUT Mission has addressed requirements of basic social infrastructure. Under AMRUT, 1,831 parks over 3,700 acres have been developed, and 85 lakh street lights have been replaced, resulting in energy savings of 185.33 crore units. The ministry of urban affairs says there is an 8-fold increase in the expenditure on urban development over the past six years (2015-2021), about Rs 11.83L cr against the Rs 1.57L cr from 2004 to 2014.