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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has already launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) in 2015 to provide affordable ‘Housing for All’, which has now been extended till 31st December 2024. As of date, Ministry has sanctioned the construction of more than 1.20 crore affordable houses. The government of India (GoI) has extended the mission up to 31st December 2024 to complete the sanctioned houses, shares Shri Kaushal Kishore, Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, in an exclusive interview with Nisha Samant of Elets News Network (ENN).

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

One of the major issues in urban areas is the lack of basic amenities such as water supply, sanitation, and waste management. How is the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs working towards providing these facilities to citizens, especially those in low-income areas?

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) on 25th June 2015 in 500 selected cities across the country including low-income areas/ slums. The Mission focuses on the development of basic urban infrastructure in the sectors of water supply, sewerage and septage management, stormwater drainage, non-motorised urban transport, and the development of green spaces and parks.

The Mission is in its extended period which is up to 31.03.2023.

The approved State Action Plan size of the state of Kerala under AMRUT is worth Rs 2359.38 crore including allocation of central assistance of Rs l,161.20 crore as project funds against which so far Rs 945.85 crore has been released.

For the city of Cochin, State has taken up 96 projects worth Rs 289 crore which includes 19 water supply projects worth Rs 114.84 crore, 02 sewarage sector projects worth Rs 85.18 crore, 49 drainage sector projects worth Rs 53.86 crore, 5 green spaces project worth Rs 3.99 crore and 21 projects in non- motorised transport sector worth Rs 31.11 crore.

Escalating coverage of AMRUT mission, AMRUT 2.0 has been launched on 1st October 2021 to provide tap water connections to all households in all town/cities across the country and coverage of sewage and septage management in 500 AMRUT cities.

Rs 1,374 crore has been allocated to the State of Kerala as central assistance of project funds under AMRUT 2.0.

So far, 222 projects worth Rs 1842.658 crore as the first tranche of State water action plan having central assistance of Rs 743.69 crore has been approved by the Apex Committee of this Ministry. 1st installment of Rs 148.7 crore has also been released to the State.

Smart Cities Mission

The Smart Cities Mission is one of the flagship programs of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Can you share with us some of the key achievements of this program so far, and how it is helping to transform urban areas in India?

• Government of India launched Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on 25 June 2015.
• 100 Smart Cities have been selected through 4 rounds of competition from January 2016 to June 2018.
• At city-level, while SPV is responsible for the implementation of SCM at the city level and hence plans, implements, operates, monitors, and evaluates their Smart City projects, Smart City Advisory Forum (SCAF) has been established to advise and enable collaboration among various city stakeholders.
• As per SCM Guidelines, Central Government will provide financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years to the 100 Smart Cities i.e., an average of 100 crores per city per year. An equal amount on a matching basis will be contributed by the State Government/Urban Local Body (ULB).
• As on February 24, 2023, the Government of India has released Rs 37,344 crore out of which Rs 33,092 crore (88.6%) have already been utilized by the 100 Smart cities.
• All the projects under Smart Cities Mission have been tendered out. As on February 24, 2023, out of the total 7,799 projects worth Rs 1,80,331 crore, 5,386 projects worth 1,02,675 Crore (57%) have been completed. 2,413 projects worth Rs 77,656 crore in the advanced stage of implementation.
• Projects undertaken by the Smart Cities inter alia include sectors such as Energy, Housing, IT connectivity, Sewerage, and Septage, and Social sectors such as Health and Education, Solid Waste Management, Urban transport, Water Supply, and Area development.
• An important milestone achieved in the mission was operationalization of Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC) in all 100 Smart Cities. While these ICCCs were developed to incorporate technology in urban management, they became the war rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of these ICCCs is maturing every day towards better management of services with use of technology in fields like safety, transport management, solid waste management, water supply etc.
• 21 Indian States have signed an MoU to extend digital services to its citizens across all its Urban Local Bodies under the National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM), which was launched to create a common platform to be shared across India. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) are helping the States in the implementation of NUDM.
• India also won the prestigious World Smart City Award under the Innovation category, at Smart City Expo World Congress-2022 in Barcelona for their data initiative- “DataSmart Cities: Empowering Cities through Data”; among 337 proposals received from 60 countries.
• The financial progress in the mission in comparison to last year is as under:

The physical progress in the mission, in comparison to last year, is as under:

• Smart Cities Mission received Platinum Icon in the category of Data Sharing & User Socio- Economic Development at the Digital India Awards- 2022. Smart Cities Mission was felicitated under the “Data Sharing and Use for Socio-Economic Development”. The team of Smart Cities Mission received the award from the Hon ‘ble President of India, at the Award ceremony on 7th January 2023.

Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban (SBM-U)

One of the major issues in urban areas is the lack of basic amenities such as water supply, sanitation, and waste management. How is the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs working towards providing these facilities to citizens, especially those in low- income areas?

SBM-Urban – An overview

• Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) (SBM-U) was launched on 2nd October 2014 with three major objectives:
  (a)Achieving 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) status,
  (b)Ensuring 100% scientific Solid Waste Management (SWM), and
  (c)Behavior change through ‘Jan Andolan’, by 2nd October 2019, in all statutory towns.
• The outlay of the Mission was Rs 62,009 crores, including GoI share of Rs 14,623 crores. Till date, a total of Rs 11,745.5 crores (80%) has been spent, out of the GoI share.
• The Mission has been extended till 30.09.2021.

Achievements of SBM-U 1.0

Launch of SBM-U 2.0 (2nd Phase of the Mission) on 1st October 2021

The second phase of SBM-U was launched on 1st October 2021, for a period of 5 years (i.e., up to 1st October 2026) with the overall vision of creating “Garbage Free Cities”. SBM-U

2.0 was undertaken to implement the recommendations of NITI Ayog (in its evaluation report dated 18th January 2021, of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes). In its report, NITI Ayog felt the need for continuous investment in construction of toilets, focusing on the entire sanitation value chain for inclusive sanitation, which also includes collection, containment, treatment, disposal and recycling of faecal waste and wastewater; strengthening the management of different types of solid wastes (including plastic, C&D, and sanitary waste) and continued budgetary support for disposal of legacy waste, management of plastic waste, C&D waste. The above recommendations suggest, inter alia, the need for Mission to continue. Moreover, the achievements under SBM-Urban needed to be sustained in the long run with the creation of adequate infrastructure, and their implementation needs to be accelerated manifold. Hence, SBM-U 2.0 was needed.

Mission Objectives of SBM-U 2.0: In order to achieve that ultimate vision of “Garbage Free” status for all cities, the following specific objectives are targeted to be achieved:

a) Sustainable Sanitation and treatment of Wastewater:
1. Holistic Sanitation, with end-to-end solutions (from discharge, containment, evacuation, and transportation to safe disposal of all effluents from toilets)
2. Treatment of wastewater before discharge into water bodies, and maximum reuse of treated wastewater.
3. Eradication of hazardous entry into sewers and septic tanks and sustaining elimination of manual scavenging.

b) Sustainable Solid Waste Management
i). Ensuring cleanliness and hygiene in public places to make all cities clean and garbage free, with 100% scientific processing of MSW.

ii). Reducingair pollution arising out of SWM activities.

iii). Phasedreduction in use of single- use plastic

c) Awareness creation along with large scale citizen outreach to create ‘janandolan’, and institutionalize ‘swachh’ behaviour

d) Creating Institutional capacity

Financial progress: The state ment below shows year-wise Budget Estimates (BE), Revised Estimates (RE) and Actual Expenditure (AE).

Physcial progress: The overall physical progress achieved till now in the country after the implementation of the first phase of the Mission, as measured against various parameters, is given below:

Mission Outcomes:

The following measurable outcomes are expected to be achieved by the end of the Mission tenure:
i. All statutory towns become at least ODF+
ii. All statutory towns with less than 1 lakh population become at least ODF++
iii. At least 50% of all statutory towns with less than 1 lakh population become Water+
iv. All statutory towns are certified at least 3-star Garbage Free, or higher

Cost of implementation of SBM-U 2.0: Union Cabinet approved SBM-U 2.0 on 12th October 2021, with Rs 1,41,600 crore as its implementation cost and Government of India’s share being Rs 36,465 crores. The balance amount shall be contributed by individuals as beneficiary contribution, States and UTs/ ULBs/ Private Sector under PPP. Wherever private sector funding is not available, State/ UT will provide the necessary funds. Balance funds will be generated through sources like CSR, external assistance etc.

About ODF, ODF+ and ODF++: MoHUA has introduced the ODF+ and ODF++ protocols, with a focus on sustaining ODF outcomes and achieving holistic sanitation. ODF+ protocol focuses on O&M of CT/ PTs by ensuring their functionality and proper maintenance for continued usage. ODF++ protocol focuses on addressing safe containment, evacuation, transportation and processing of fecal sludge from toilets and ensuring that no untreated sludge is discharged into open drains, water bodies or in open fields. Till date, 3,547 cities have been certified ODF+ and above, and 1,191 cities have been certified ODF++ and above, through third party verification. Later, MoHUA introduced Water+ protocol, to ensure that no untreated wastewater is discharged into the open environment or water bodies. Till date,

The component wisefund all ocation under SBM-U2.0 isas under:

14 cities have been certified Water+ after its assessment by 3rd party verification procedure.

About Solid Waste Management (SWM): In Solid Waste Management, an enabling eco system has been created through policy reforms designed to encourage conversion of waste to value added products. Awareness has also been generated on critical issues such as source segregation of waste, effective management of Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste, reduction in single-use plastic usage, etc. At the time of its launch, the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) treatment capacity was 26,000 TPD of waste (18%). This has been enhanced substantially in the last 6 years, and presently, waste processing capacity stands at 1,14,013 TPD (74.94%) out of 1,52,131 TPD of daily waste generated. Door-to-door collection and Source Segregation have gone up from negligible levels in 2014 to cover 89,159wards (97.07%) and 82,442 wards (89.76%) respectively.

About Star rating protocol for Garbage free cities (GFC): The protocol, based on various SWM parameters follows a SMART framework – A single metric, Measurable, Achievable, Rigorous verification mechanism and targeted towards outcomes. The indicators include all components of SWM, viz. source segregation, scientific processing of waste, dumpsite remediation, penalties & spot fines for littering, compliance by bulk waste generators, cleanliness of drains & water bodies, plastic waste management, and managing construction & demolition waste, etc. which are critical for cities to achieve garbage free status.

About Behaviour change through SBM-Urban: In behavior change, SBM-U has emerged as the largest Urban sanitation behaviour change program in the world. Under SBM-U, the sanitation discourse has been brought onto the center stage of the nation’s development agenda and has helped to transform a government mandate into a ‘Jan Ando/an’. Through judicious use of traditional, digital, and social media campaigns and intensive interpersonal communication, SBM-U has been able to activate all categories of citizens – community volunteers, youth, students, homemakers, senior citizens, celebrities, elected representatives, media and the industry.

About Innovations under SBM-Urban: A variety of innovations have contributed to the success of the first phase of the Mission, as given below:

The Swachh Survekshan is an innovative survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban, to rank cities on various sanitation and cleanliness parameters. The survey has been successful in enthusing cities with a spirit of healthy competition towards the concept of ‘swachhata’.

Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:

• The Manual Scavenging Act of 2013 and various judgements of Hon’ble Supreme Court expressly prohibit hazardous cleaning, i.e. manual entry into a septic tank or sewer without protective gear and observing operating procedures. Despite this, recurring episodes of human fatalities among those engaged in cleaning of septic tanks and sewers continue to be an issue of concern. The major cause for these unfortunate deaths has been lack of awareness among Citizens (service seekers) and Informal/Formal Workers (service providers) about the risk to life while undertaking hazardous entry into sewers and septic tanks.

The Journey so far is summarised in the table below:

• A national level competition titled “Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge (SSC) was launched by MoHUA on 19th November 2020, on the occasion of World Toilet Day. The objective of the SSC is to encourage more cities and towns to adopt MechanizedCleaning of Sewers and Septic Tanks as a practice and act as Lighthouse for other cities in this regard.

A total of 246 cities (registered Municipal Corporations, Smart Cities, and Capital cities across States/UTs) participated in the challenge, which carried cash awards of nearly Rs.52 cores across various categories. A detailed toolkit was prepared with multiple evaluation parameters, carrying a total score of 1000 marks, and detailing out the evaluation methodology, for the purpose of this challenge. The same was shared with all States/UTs and participating cities.

ICT initiatives:

• MoHUA has partnered with Google to map all public toilets on Google maps, thereby improving ease of access of sanitation facilities to citizens. Till date, 67,407 public toilet blocks across 3,326 cities are visible in Google maps.
• More than 2.08 crore citizens have downloaded Swachhata app (the citizens’ grievance redressal platform for all sanitation and waste management related complaints), 2.54 crore complaints have been registered and 2.38 crore complaints have been resolved.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U)

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has been working towards providing affordable housing to all sections of society. What new policies or initiatives are you planning to introduce in the near future to achieve this goal?

The Ministry has already launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) in 2015 to provide affordable ‘Housing for All’, which has now been extended till 31st December 2024. As of date, Ministry has sanctioned the construction of more than 1.20 crore affordable houses. The government of India (GoI) has extended the mission up to 31st December 2024 to complete the sanctioned houses.

How does PMAY-U promote climate & disaster resilient and green technologies?

Ministry has successfully addressed the growing demand for houses under PMAY-U, based on surveys conducted, a total demand for 112.24 lakh houses was noted till 2017-18 against which, as on date, Ministry has sanctioned more than 1.20 crore houses accommodating additional demand generated for houses beyond 2017-18.

Under PMAY-U, Ministry has initiated Global Housing Technology Challenge – India (GHTC-India) to identify and mainstream innovative proven construction technology from across the globe which are cost-effective, climate and disaster resilient, green, and sustainable. A total of 54 such proven alternative and innovative technologies have been shortlisted through a challenging process under GHTC-India and are being promoted for mainstreaming. Six shortlisted innovative technologies are being showcased through the construction of six Light House Projects (LHPs) with about 1,000 houses each for showcasing the use of the best of new age technologies, materials, and processes in the construction sector. The foundation stone of these 6 LHPs was laid by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 1st January 2021. Two LHPs at Chennai and Rajkot have already been inaugurated and handed over to beneficiaries by Hon’ble PM on 26.5.2022 and 19.10.2022 respectively. The construction works on the remaining 4 LHPs are in full swing.

Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators – India (ASHA-India) was launched by the Ministry to provide incubation and acceleration support to domestic potential future technologies that are not yet market ready or to the technologies that are market ready, Five ASHA-India Centres in IITs & CBRI-CSIR/ NEIST, Jorhat have been set up for providing long term incubation support to the potential technologies.

Further, Ministry has launched Resilient, Affordable and Comfortable Housing Through National Action (RACHNA) in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusarnmenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Building Material and Technology promotion Council (BMTPC). A series of 75 trainings & workshops on Innovative Construction Technologies &

Thermal Comfort for Affordable Housing has been conducted under this program and so far, over 5,100 participants including Government Officials (1199), Practitioners & Professionals (1,322), Contractors & Construction workers (983) and students (1,638) across 29 cities have been covered.

Further, the Angikaar campaign for change management was also launched by the Ministry which has created awareness on water and energy conservation, waste management, health & sanitation, Rain Water Harvesting, Tree plantation amongst beneficiaries and enable families in adapting to newly constructed PMAY(U) homes through social behaviour change management. MoHUA converged with Urban Missions and Schemes of other Ministries like Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala, Ujala, Jal Shakti Abhiyan,
Fit-India Movement, Poshan Abhiyan for the campaign.

Can you give us some insights into the future plans and strategies of the Ministry to address the challenges of rapid urbanization and provide affordable and sustainable housing to all citizens of India?

‘Land’ and ‘Colonisation’ are State subjects. Schemes related to providing housing in their respective areas are implemented by States/Union Territories (UTs). However, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is supplementing the efforts of States/ UTs to provide affordable housing with basic amenities to eligible urban beneficiaries. Ongoing, PMAY-U adopts a demand-driven approach wherein States/UTs have been empowered to approve the projects for more than 1.20 crore eligible beneficiaries. The PMAY-U has now been extended till 31st December 2024 to complete the construction of houses sanctioned till 31.3.2022 and Ministry is focused presently to complete the construction of all sanctioned houses.

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