Urban Development Missions and Schemes: Smart Cities, Amrut, Swachh Bharat Urban

India’s urban population is expanding rapidly, creating an urgent need for sustainable, technologically equipped, and resilient municipal infrastructure. To address urbanization challenges, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs implements targeted national urban missions. These initiatives focus on core municipal infrastructure, digital governance, solid waste management, and water security across statutory towns and major urban centers.

Smart Cities Mission

Vision and Implementation Framework

Launched on June 25, 2015, the Smart Cities Mission was designed to drive economic growth and improve quality of life by enabling local development and harnessing technology. The mission covered 100 cities selected through a nationwide “City Challenge” competition.

Operational Mechanism

• Executed via Special Purpose Vehicles set up under the Companies Act, 2013, as 50:50 joint ventures between State/UT governments and Urban Local Bodies.
• Funding was structured on a 50:50 matching basis, with the Central Government providing ₹500 crore per city over five years and an equal share contributed by States or Urban Local Bodies.
• Utilizes three strategic approaches: Retrofitting (improving existing areas), Redevelopment (replacing existing built environment), and Greenfield development (developing new satellite areas).

Key Components and Technology Infrastructure

• Integrated Command and Control Centres operate as digital hubs for traffic management, utility monitoring, solid waste logistics, and disaster response.
• Employs smart solutions including intelligent traffic management systems, smart metering, SCADA systems for water supply, automated waste collection, and CCTV surveillance networks.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation

AMRUT 1.0 (2015-2021)

Launched in June 2015, AMRUT focused on establishing basic civic infrastructure across 500 selected cities with a population above one lakh. Key focus areas included tap water coverage, sewerage and septage management, storm-water drainage, non-motorized urban transport, and green spaces.

AMRUT 2.0 (2021-2026)

Launched on October 1, 2021, for a five-year period, AMRUT 2.0 expands the scope of the original mission to build self-reliant and water-secure cities.

• Aims to provide 100% functional tap water connection coverage to all households across all 4,378 statutory towns.
• Ensures 100% coverage of sewerage and septage management in the 500 cities covered under AMRUT 1.0.
• Mandates the formulation of State Water Action Plans and promotes circular economy principles through treated wastewater recycling and rejuvenation of local water bodies.
• Total indicative outlay stands at ₹2,99,000 crore, with a Central share of ₹76,760 crore.

Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban

SBM-U Phase 1 (2014-2019)

Launched on October 2, 2014, SBM-U focused on eliminating open defecation and achieving 100% scientific processing of municipal solid waste across statutory towns.

• Supported the construction of Individual Household Latrines, Community Toilets, and Public Toilets.
• Resulted in urban India achieving Open Defecation Free status, followed by ODF+ and ODF++ certifications focusing on toilet usage maintenance and fecal sludge management.

SBM-U 2.0 (2021-2026)

Launched on October 1, 2021, with an outlay of ₹1,41,600 crore, SBM-U 2.0 aims to create “Garbage Free Cities” by October 2026.

• Focuses on 100% source segregation of waste, scientific processing of all categories of municipal solid waste, and remediation of all legacy dumpsites across urban India.
• Targets Water+ certification for cities, ensuring no untreated wastewater is discharged into open water bodies or drains.
• Phasing out single-use plastics and promoting material recovery facilities and waste-to-energy conversion plants.

Comparative Overview of Urban Missions

Key Facts for Revision

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs serves as the central nodal ministry for Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT, and SBM-U.
• Special Purpose Vehicles under the Smart Cities Mission are headed by a full-time CEO and have nominees of Central Government, State Government, and Urban Local Bodies.
• Integrated Command and Control Centres act as the central brain for monitoring urban infrastructure and services.
• The City Challenge was a two-stage competitive mechanism used to select 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission.
• AMRUT 2.0 targets 100% functional household tap connections in all statutory towns.
• State Water Action Plans are mandatory operational plans submitted by states to access Central Assistance under AMRUT 2.0.
• SBM-U 2.0 aims to achieve complete remediation of all legacy landfills in India.
• The ODF+ protocol focuses on sustained toilet usage and maintenance, whereas ODF++ focuses on complete fecal sludge and sewage management.
• The Water+ protocol under SBM-U ensures that no untreated sewage or industrial effluent is discharged into open drains or water bodies.