Rs 3,287 cr AMRUT plan to improve water supply, sewerage in UP

NEW DELHI, December 6: Uttar Pradesh government has earmarked Rs 3,287 cr for improving water supply and sewerage and providing green spaces and parks in 60 cities under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Action Plan for 2015-16. Of this, Rs 1,519 crore is to be spent on water supply schemes in 60 mission cities, Rs 1,698 crore on sewerage projects in 24 cities and Rs 70 crore to provide open spaces in 58 cities under the plan submitted to the Urban Development Ministry. In the state annual action plan (SAAP) for 2015-16 under Atal Mission, the state government has reported better availability of basic infrastructure services than the national average for urban areas. Average water supply in these 60 mission cities is reported to be 161 litres per capita per day (lpcd) as against the national average of 70 lpcd for urban areas in the country, it said. Coverage of urban households with water taps is 54 percent while it is 50 percent for the country. 87 percent of households in these 60 cities are said to be having individual household toilets as against 69 percent for urban India. Sewerage network services are available to the extent of 34 percent, while it is at a low of 12 percent for the country, the state government claimed. The AMRUT Plan of Uttar Pradesh for 2015-16 will be considered by the UD Ministry for approval on the December 10. The Ministry has so far approved such plans of 13 states covering a total of 286 cities and towns. Under SAAP for 2015-16, the state government has proposed an investment of Rs 352 crore in Ghaziabad to further augment water supply and Rs 307 crore for sewerage network services, the highest among all 60 mission cities. This is followed by Rs 305 crore for Lucknow, Rs 223 crore for Jhansi, Rs 200 crore for Kanpur, Rs 190 crore for Allahabad, Rs 180 crore each for Varanasi and Modinagar, Rs 140 crore for Mirzapur, Rs 125 crore for Meerut, Rs 109 crore for Moradabad, Rs 107 crore for Bulandshahar, Rs 98 crore for Ghazipur, Rs 80 crore for Saharanpur and Rs 65 crore for Raibareilly. As per the information furnished by the state government, water supply at present in the 60 mission cities is in the range of 45 litres per capita per day in Amroha to a high of 300 lpcd in Ghazipur. In 32 cities and towns, water supply is more than 135 lpcd, which is the prescribed bench mark for urban areas of the country. In 11 cities and towns, it is between 100 and 135 lpcd. The state government said "the overall trend shows that there is sufficient availability of water supply in most of the AMRUT cities." The extent of coverage of households with water taps in the mission cities is to the extent of 54 percent and projects will be taken up to ensure 100 percent coverage by 2019-20. Focus will also be on expanding sewerage network services since at present no such services are available in 20 mission cities and in the rest, it is in the range of 0.05 percent in Etawah to 94 percent in Mainpuri. Situation in this regard is better in 14 municipal corporations. Under Atal Mission, priority is given for universal coverage of urban households with water supply and sewerage connections besides ensuring water supply of 135 lpcd for each household. Centre has made a provision of Rs 50,000 crore for assisting the states to the extent of 50 percent of project costs in cities with a population of below 10 lakh each and one third of the cost if the population is above 10 lakh each. Rest has to be matched by states and urban local bodies. Out of the 60 mission cities, 7 cities - Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Agra, Meerut, Varanasi and Allahabad - have a population of above 10 lakh each. 45 towns have a population in the range of 1-5 lakh with Kasganj having the lowest population of 1,01,241. The state government has reported that urban population in Uttar Pradesh has increased from 190 lakh (excluding that of present Uttarakhand) in 1981 to 445 lakh in 2011, now accounting for 12 per cent of the country's urban population. All cities and towns in the country with a population of above one lakh each and all capital cities and towns are included in the Atal Mission. Central assistance to each state under this mission is allocated based on an objective criteria of total urban population and number of statutory urban local bodies in each state.