Amrut scheme stalled as Centre delays guidelines to states
Chennai: Despite allocating around 10,000 crore for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) 2.0 extension scheme meant for civic work across the country, the Union govt is yet to issue guidelines to states on how to frame projects.Launched in Oct 2021, the five-year Amrut 2.0 aims to ensure water supply and sewerage coverage in 4,900 towns. In TN, 28 cities and towns have so far received approvals for projects worth 14,688 crore, including 4,942 crore in central assistance. As per the norms, guidelines are issued soon after the fund allocation in the central budget, which are to be followed by civic bodies creating model projects to receive the funds.Municipal administration and water supply (MAWS) department officials said they have been waiting for five months now for the guidelines and the delay has resulted in holding back key water and sewerage projects in at least 28 cities in the state."In core city areas, most sewer pipelines belong to the British era, and their capacity has reduced due to urbanization. This is also causing reverse flow. With the Amrut funds, we plan to replace them. Apart from this, we also need to showcase model projects to receive allocations for the specific projects," an official told TOI.Officials said they have prepared a city water balance plan for all 158 urban local bodies (20 corporations and 138 municipalities).For cities with a population of more than 10 lakh, the Union govt will provide a 33% project share, the state will provide 20%, and the local body will provide 47%. For cities with less than 10 lakh population, the Union govt will contribute the maximum share of 50%, followed by 20% by the state and 30% by the local body.K Senthilkumar, a civic activist, said govts make big announcements in the budget, but it takes nearly a year for the funds to trickle down to local bodies. "Many areas of Chennai, including new corporations such as Tambaram and Avadi, neither have end-to-end water supply nor sewage lines," he said.State officials said they will provide representations to issue fresh guidelines for projects that can be carried out in the extension scheme.
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