Providing basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households and build amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the disadvantage a national priority. An estimate of the funds required over a 20 year period, at 2009-10 prices, was made by the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) during 2011. The Committee estimated that Rs. 39.2 lakh crore was required for creation of urban infrastructure, including Rs. 17.3 lakh crore for urban roads and Rs. 8 lakh crore for services, such as water supply, sewerage, solid waste managementand storm water drains. Moreover, the requirement for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) wasseparately estimated to be Rs. 19.9 lakh crore.
Learnings from the earlier Mission have shown that infrastructure creation should have a directimpact on the real needs of people, such as providing taps and toilet connections to all households.
This means that the focus should be on infrastructure creation that has a direct link to provision of better services to people and this was explicitly stated by the President of India in his speeches to theJoint Sessions of the Parliament on 9 June, 2014 and 23 February, 2015.
Therefore, the purpose of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is to (i) ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection; (ii) increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained openspaces (e.g. parks); and (iii) reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling). All these outcomes are valued by citizens,particularly women, and indicators and standards have been prescribed by the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment (MoUD) in the form of Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs).
Thrust areas
1.1 The Mission will focus on the following Thrust Areas:
i. water supply,
ii. sewerage facilities and septage management,
iii. storm water drains to reduce flooding,
iv. pedestrian, non-motorized and public transport facilities, parking spaces, and
v. enhancing amenity value of cities by creating and upgrading green spaces, parks andrecreation centers, especially for children.