AMRUT Mission: Only 15% Funds Utilised In Last 4 Years

Before moving ahead on the project issues, I would like to figure out some information on AMRUT. The AMRUT was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 2015 in 500 cities across the country, covering about 60% of the total urban population.
Looking forward to this, the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched 3-major urban flagship schemes in 2015. These are Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) to enhance the infrastructure of Indian cities. The project was accepted and honoured by the industry experts, and if accomplished with a will, the mission could change the appearance of cities and towns where even basic facilities are lacking.
With the Budget 2019 that brought bundles of packages for these schemes. But the government still lagging behind its targets, development in the sector remains shadowy.
However, even after 4-years of its implementation, out of the total budget, only 15% fund has been used according to the data provided by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Around 1,885 projects worth Rs 5,075 crore (15% usage of total mission target) have been completed. More than half of the projects are under implementation (cost Rs 62,201 crore).

What Government Data says:

As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, around Rs, 1,768 crores was allocated for the green spaces and parks sector, and a total of 2,355 park projects costing Rs 1,522 crore was engaged under the AMRUT mission.
Along with the completed projects, 990 projects cost Rs 812 crore are under headway.

Indian cities are more urban than admitted and share between 59% and 70% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The three-month-old NDA government in their budget for FY 2019-20 has estimated about 48,000 crore for the ministry of housing and urban affairs which is an 11.8% increase since last year’s budget.

AMRUT Cities are experiencing overlook due to unfamed development. Air quality and congestion are worsening, house prices continue to rise, and amenities and services like clean water, public spaces, public transport, and solid waste management are badly unsatisfactory. The local bodies committed to controlling cities do not have sufficient funds, skill, or staffs to plan for and face these difficulties.

Being a central approved scheme, the funding support is given to the amount of 50% of the project cost in case of cities with a population of less than 10 lakh each and up to 1/3rd in the case of cities with a population of above 10 lakh each. The total cost being Rs 77,640 crore (including central assistance of Rs 35,990), the funds are being issued in parts to the states keeping in mind the developmental work being done. Until now, 14 states which include Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat etc., have received 20% of the budgeted amount under the scheme AMRUT.

While the union budget expenditure on urban development in 2018-19 was the highest ever, as a share of the grand total this had actually declined by 0.2 percentage points to 1.7% of the budget.
Barely 7-20% of the central assistance earmarked for the three flagship schemes have been used since their launch, indicating that states remain chronically underfunded.
In the three schemes, work has been sanctioned for not more than a 3rd of the set targets which will meet their deadlines in 2019-20 and 2021-22. The number of works actually completed is even lower.
Over 1,100 parks developed across the country under Amrut Mission as per the Housing Ministry.
According to the housing ministry, more than 4,288 acres of land is being developed as green spaces and parks under the AMRUT mission. Until now, over 1,159 parks have been developed under the mission across the country. These parks have children friendly provisions, disabled-friendly features, open gyms, etc.

Out of 97,93,386 lakh target, 62,78,571 lakh street lights have already been replaced with LED lights.
Energy audit of water pumps has been completed in 358 cities; MoUs have been signed for another 446 cities.
The online building permission system (OBPS) has become functional in Delhi and Mumbai. It has also been implemented in 439 AMRUT cities.

As AMRUT Mission targets on the basic infrastructure, the following were the target areas of the scheme with the budget output:
The centre has spent Rs 9,011 crore on water supply.
Rs 1,436 crore spent on Pedestrian, non-motorised and public transport facilities, parking spaces etc.
Rs 2,969 crore spent on stormwater drains to reduce flooding.
Rs 1,768 crore spent on improving the amenity value of cities by creating and promoting green spaces, parks and recreation centres, especially for children.
Rs 32,456 crore spent on sewerage facilities and septage management.
For all that AMRUT mission fixed timelines for each of the target areas, some of the states are advancing of the timelines and have completed most of the works like strengthening e-governance policies, digitisation of Urban Local Bodies, the professionalization of municipal bodies, revision by building by-laws, municipal tax and fees and Swachh Bharat Mission which is popular among all.

Indian cities need urgent reform in order to unlock their economic potential and transform the quality of life. So, the NDA government requires to connect on observing the amount of urban growth, enhance land usage, legitimize urban local bodies and spend in public transport networks.

Image Sources: RajRAS