Latest news with #SBM2.0
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Ex-mayor wants more funds for Nagpur, grant norms eased
Nagpur: Representing Nagpur city before the 16th in Mumbai on Thursday, former mayor urged the Centre to relax strict conditions laid under the 15th Finance Commission that prevented urban local bodies from receiving vital grants in recent pointed out that due to absence of elected representatives following deferred civic body polls and inability to increase property tax collections by the mandated 15% annually — mostly because civic staffers were engaged in conducting state and Lok Sabha elections — (NMC) was denied grants for three financial years: 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He said inclusion of such stringent conditions adversely affected civic works and demanded their removal under the 16th Finance other key proposals, Tiwari recommended reduction in the municipal corporation's contribution toward centrally-sponsored schemes such as AMRUT, AMRUT 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), and SBM 2.0. "Presently, the funding pattern is 25% from the Centre, 25% from the state, and 50% from the corporation," the former mayor told TOI and said he urged the commission to bring down the corporation's share to 25%, citing a steep rise in unavoidable expenditure and limited disaster preparedness, Tiwari said municipal commissioner was appointed chairman of the newly restructured Authority under the amended Disaster Management Act, 2025. He proposed additional funding to support the municipal body's independent efforts in managing urban disasters such as floods, fires, and also sought dedicated grants to enhance city surveillance system, which, he said, would play a critical role in curbing crime and ensuring safety of citizens and public assets as the city continues to for investments in renewable energy, Tiwari highlighted NMC operating over 200 electric buses and growing EV usage among citizens. However, the city faces a shortage of charging stations. He requested funds for installing EV charging infrastructure on municipal land to support sustainable public transportation, he said Nagpur currently runs 519 buses, including 230 electric ones. With 1.25 lakh daily ridership and plans to add 400 more electric buses, annual Rs170 crore burden on the civic body cannot be sustained. He proposed capital and operational support under the Finance Commission to ease this further urged funds for upgrading basic infrastructure in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas near metro corridors, development in newly urbanised city zones, and implementation of Development Plan (DP), particularly for reserved plots earmarked for civic amenities.
Hans India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Solid waste management is top priority of civic dept
Vijayawada: Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P Narayana said the State government is preparing route map to create awareness on solid waste management and municipal administration department is giving top priority for solid waste management. He said the government is conducting Swachh Andhra programme on third Saturday of every month and creating awareness on cleanliness, adding that people should have awareness that they should not throw garbage on roads. The Minister addressed a consultation workshop on 'Behavioural Change and Capacity Building' under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0, organised by Swachh Andhra Corporation (SAC) here on Monday. Narayana said 6,500 tons of garbage is produced every day in the State and removal of solid and liquid is a challenging task. He said the previous YSRCP government had left 80 lakh tons of garbage and CM N Chandrababu Naidu had setthe target to remove garbage and change the State into clean AP by October 2. The AP government is studying best practices adopted by other States on solid and liquid waste management and been trying to implement in the State, he added. S Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary of MA&UD, emphasised the critical role of Behaviour Change Communication in achieving sustainable sanitation outcomes. He highlighted that while significant progress has been made since the launch of SBM in 2014 by PM Narendra Modi, the real success lies in making cleanliness an ingrained cultural practice among citizens. He said, 'Sanitation and hygiene must not be seen as one-time initiatives but must become a way of life.' Underscoring the pivotal role of citizens, he called for collective ownership of the cleanliness movement, noting that government efforts alone are insufficient to bring about the scale of behavioural change required. The Principal Secretary also highlighted that under SBM 2.0, a dedicated fund of Rs 25 crore has been earmarked exclusively for Behaviour Change initiatives in the state. He outlined key priority areas: The workshop featured technical presentations from institutions such as National Institute of Urban Affairs, RCUES, WASH Institute, AIILSG, UNICEF, and development partners like ITC. The day's deliberations concluded with actionable recommendations, including preparation of a time-bound roadmap by Swachh Andhra Corporation to complete planned capacity-building initiatives over the next six months. Swachh Andhra Corporation Chairman Kommareddy Pattabhi, Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) P Sampath Kumar, Managing Director SAC Anil Kumar Reddy, and others participated in the workshop.
