By Staff Reporter
The key initiatives/achievements/events of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) during the year are as under-
Smart Cities Mission
As on 15.11.2024, under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), work orders have been issued in 8,066 projects amounting to ₹1,64,669 crore, of which 7,352 projects (i.e. 91% of total projects) amounting to ₹1,47,366 crore have been completed, as per the data provided by 100 Smart Cities.
Some of the key achievements of SCM observed in improving urban living standards, safety, and public services include, inter-alia, Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC) at all 100 smart cities, 84,000 CCTV surveillance cameras, 1,884 emergency call boxes, more than 3,000 public address systems, more than 1,740 kms of smart roads, 713 kms of cycle tracks, 17,026 kms of water supply system being monitored through Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, more than 66 cities are managing Solid Waste Management with increased usage of technology, around 9,194 vehicles have been Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enabled for Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), more than 9,433 smart classrooms and 41 Digital Libraries have been developed, 172 e-health centers and clinics developed and 152 health ATMs have been installed.
SCM has created replicable models/projects in the 100 Smart Cities which can act as `lighthouses’ for other aspiring cities of the country including ‘area based development’ smart cities solution (Pan city features) projects. Based on the learning of more than 7,000 completed projects under SCM, the mission has created multiple knowledge products to document the learnings from scalable and replicable projects. These publications are available at SCM website: https://smartcities.gov.in/documents.
Swachh Bharat Mission
Achievements of past 6 months (Since June 9th, 2024)
- Key Financial Update: The government has released more than Rs 1,123 crore for projects in 9 State, viz, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal for Solid Waste and Used Water Management, IEC & Capacity Building Projects.
Key Infrastructure Development Update: Waste-to-Energy plant of 1000 Metric tonnes with 15 Mega Watt capacity worth Rs 375 crore launched in Piplaj, Ahmedabad, Gujarat on November 01.
Legacy Waste Management Update: Two major dumpsites in Ahmedabad & Hyderabad completely remediated, successful addressing approx. quantity 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste.
100 Cities Programme for Solid Waste Management: With ADB and World Bank 100 cities programme for bankable projects for saturation of solid waste management is underway.
Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) 2024 campaign under which Centre targeted timebound & targeted transformation of difficult and dirty spots (Cleanliness Targeted Units). The campaign was built around three core pillars:
1. Swachhata Ki Bhaagidari – Public participation, awareness, and advocacy for Swachh Bharat.
2. Sampoorna Swachhata – Mega cleanliness drives targeting difficult and dirty spots (Cleanliness Target Units).
3. SafaiMitra Suraksha Shivir – Single-window service, safety, and recognition camps for sanitation workers’ welfare and health.
- 10 Years of Swachh Bharat Mission Updates:
- Access to Toilets
- Improved Waste Collection
- Waste Processing
- Legacy Waste Remediation
- Safai Mitra Suraksha
- Women-led Sanitation & Youth Power for Swachhata
- Start-ups
AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0
The Key accomplishments under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), include the creation of:
• 4,649 MLD water treatment capacity.
• 4,429 MLD sewage treatment capacity.
Under AMRUT 2.0, the government is prioritizing stormwater drainage systems to address waterlogging challenges, alongside continuing efforts to enhance drinking water availability and sewerage systems.
Urban Mobility and Sustainability Initiatives
Government focuses on improving urban mobility through initiatives such as:
- Expansion of Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS)- First Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut was sanctioned in 2019. 42 kms of this stretch has been made operational since October, 2023. By June 2025, remaining portion will also be operational.
- Promotion of e-mobility and walkable streets in cities to reduce pollution and address environmental concerns.
- Till May, 2014, about 248 kms of metro rail lines were operational in the country. This has increased by 745 kms till date and at present about 993 kms of metro rail liner are operational.
- Further, about 998 kms of metro rail projects (including balance portion of Delhi-Meerut RRTS) are under construction in various cities across the nation, namely, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Pune, Kanpur, Agra, Bhopal, Indore, Patna, Surat and Meerut.
- The average daily ridership was about 28 lakhs in 2013-14. With the rapid expansion of metro rail network, the average daily ridership has now crossed 1 Cr.
- “PM-e-Bus Sewa” launched on 16th August 2023 aims to augment urban bus operations in urban areas with Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 20,000 crore for deploying 10,000 fully air-conditioned electric buses under the GCC model.
Urban Housing and PMAY 2.0
A new Rental Housing Vertical has been introduced under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) 2.0, benefiting the migrant population/ working women/industrial workers/ homeless/students and other beneficiaries. Key updates include:
- Converting existing Government funded vacant houses into ARH through PPP mode or by Public Agencies.
- Provisional sanctions for around 7% of the planned 1 crore urban houses based on the population of states signing MoUs, ensuring timely allocation and expediting the process.
- To streamline operations, sanctions to states will be finalized based on demand survey received by March 31, 2025 providing clarity on yearly house allocations. In addition, in-principle approval has been given for more than 6 lakh houses under PMAY-U 2.0 which is a significant achievement in the implementation of the scheme.
- PMAY-U 2.0 is currently in the implementation phase. A web portal has been developed to help beneficiaries apply for the scheme directly (https://pmaymis.gov.in/PMAYMIS2_2024/PmayDefault.aspx).
Launch of New NULM Mission
A revamped National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) will soon be launched, informed by the results of a pilot project currently underway in 25 cities, including industrial hubs and migrant centres. The mission envisions to cover nearly 2.5 crore urban poor households for socio-economic upliftment.
Key Updates of DAY-NULM till 30th September 2024:
- Over 1 Crore urban poor women have been mobilised into more than 9.96 Lak Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations like Area Level Federation (ALF) and City Level Federation (CLF);
- Over 39.39 lakh livelihoods created through skill training and placement, access to subsidize credit to individual and groups, for setting up micro-enterprises, and saving corpus-based bank linkages to SHGs;
- 1,994 permanent Shelters are built with total capacity for 1.41 Lakh urban homeless;
- Around 71.65 lakh street vendors have been identified through survey in 3471 cities in which more than 38.87 lakh street vendors issued Certificate of Vending (CoV) and over 32.59 lakh issued ID Cards;
- Rs. 5,733.10 Cr. Spent under DAY-NULM as Central Assistance to States and UTs.