Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), asserting that these missions were aimed at making the cities garbage free and water secure.
In his address after launching SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 at the Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi, Modi said the new phases of these missions are also an important step in fulfilling dreams of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. "It's our privilege that today's programme has been organised at the B.R. Ambedkar Centre. Babasaheb believed that urban development was pivotal to removing inequality," Modi said.
In his speech, the prime minister said that the goal of the mission is to ensure ¡®Garbage-Free¡¯ cities. While the next phase of Mission AMRUT will focus on ¡®increasing sewage and septic management, making cities water safe¡¯ and ensuring that no sewage drains in rivers.
PM Modi lauded children and youth for being mindful of maintaining cleanliness.
¡°I am happy to note that our generation has taken the initiative to strengthen the cleanliness campaign. Toffee wrappers are no longer thrown on the ground but kept in pockets. Today, children remind elders not to spread litter,¡± he said.?
According to the press release, SBM-U and AMRUT have contributed significantly to improve the urban landscape during the last seven years. The government said that the two flagship Missions have augmented the capacity to deliver basic services of water supply and sanitation to the citizens.?
¡°All urban local bodies have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 70% solid waste is being scientifically processed now. AMRUT has been ensuring water security by adding 1.1 crore household water tap connections and 85 lakh sewer connections, thus benefiting more than 4 crore people,¡± the statement added.
SBM-U 2.0 envisions to make all cities ¡®Garbage Free¡¯ and ensure grey and black water management in all cities. The Mission will focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing 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. The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around ?1.41 lakh crore.
AMRUT 2.0 aims to provide 100% coverage of water supply to all households in around 4,700 urban local bodies by providing about 2.68 crore tap connections and 100% coverage of sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities by providing around 2.64 crore sewer/septage connections, which will benefit more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas.?