New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 at 11 am today along with AMRUT Mission 2.0 for Rejuvenation and Urban Reform. It will be started at the Dr. Ambedkar International Center in the capital of the country, Delhi. Union Ministers and Ministers of State for Housing and Urban Affairs and Urban Development Ministers of States and Union Territories will also be present on the occasion.
It is noteworthy that both these schemes have been prepared to realize the ambition of making all the cities of the country ‘waste free’ and ‘water safe’. Both these missions to be launched by PM Modi will signal a step forward towards effectively addressing the challenges of rapid urbanization in India as well as contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2030.
What is Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0
Modi government’s plan SBM-U 2.0 includes making all cities of the country ‘waste free’ and ensuring management of gray and black water in all cities other than the cities covered under AMRUT 2.0, ODF+ to all urban local bodies and those with a population of less than 1 lakh are envisaged to be prepared as ODF++ to meet the goal of safe sanitation in urban areas. Under the mission, the principles of source segregation of solid waste, 3-R, reduce, reuse, recycle, scientific processing of all types of urban solid waste and effective solid waste management. The focus will be on the improvement of the dump site. The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is approximately Rs 1.41 lakh crore.
What is Amrit 2.0 Mission
Mission AMRUT 2.0 being launched by the Central Government today aims to provide about 2.64 crore sewer connections to all households in about 4,700 urban local bodies, with about 2.68 crore tap connections and 100 per cent coverage of sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. It aims to provide 100% coverage of drinking water supply, which will benefit more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas. AMRUT 2.0 will adopt the principles of circular economy and promote conservation and rejuvenation of surface and groundwater bodies. The mission will promote data based governance in water management and technology sub-mission to leverage the latest global technologies and skills. ‘Drinking Water Survey’ will be conducted to promote progressive competition among cities. The outlay of AMRUT 2.0 is around Rs 2.87 lakh crore.
Effect of SBM-U and Elixir
SBM-U and AMRUT have made significant contribution in improving the urban landscape during the last seven years. Both these major missions have enhanced their capacity to provide basic services of water supply and sanitation to the citizens. Today cleanliness has become a mass movement. All urban local bodies have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 70 per cent solid waste is now being processed scientifically. AMRUT is involved in ensuring water security by connecting 1.1 crore domestic tap connections and 85 lakh sewer connections, which will benefit more than 4 crore people.