Ahead of its seventh anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second segment of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U) and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), on October 1, 2021.
SBM-U 2.0 envisions to make all cities ‘garbage free’, ensuring grey and black water management in all cities excluding which are enclosed under AMRUT, as per a statement made by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
It also targets to make all urban local bodies with a population of less than 1 lakh Open Defecation Free (ODF), thus accomplishing the vision of safe sanitation in urban areas.
Image: The Hindu
PM Modi explains;
With this second phase, we are also aiming for sewage and safety management, making cities water-secure and ensuring that the dirty drains do not merge into the rivers. The garbage mounts in cities will be processed and removed completely as part of the SBM-U second phase.
The mission would focus on source seclusion of solid waste, by practising the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management. Reportedly, the expenditure for SBM-U 2.0 is around 1.41 lakh crore rupees.
According to the PMO, the AMRUT 2.0 aims to provide 100 per cent water supply to all households in approximately 4,700 urban local bodies. This will be achieved by providing around 2.68 crore tap connections.
It also claims to cover 100 per cent sewerage and septage in nearly 500 AMRUT cities with 2.64 crore sewers, which will eventually support more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas. AMRUT 2.0 will implement the principles of the circular economy.
The mission holistically aims to approach data-led governance in water management and influencing the latest global technologies through technology sub-mission. The total expenditure associated with AMRUT 2.0 is about 2.87 lakh crore rupees.
The revival of these missions would definitely benefit people along with the environment. It will be interesting to see how and to what extent this project will be implemented.
Via: The Hindu