Punjab to invest Rs.720 cr in basic urban infra in 16 cities; Uttarakhand Rs.267 cr in 6 cities

Central assistance of Rs.453 cr to both states

Punjab reports best sewerage treatment infra in the country; Haridwar has the best infra in Uttarakhand

Over Rs.20,000 cr investment in basic urban infra approved so far; central assistance of Rs.10,000 cr

            Punjab Government will invest Rs.720 cr in improving basic urban infrastructure in 16 cities while Uttarakhand will spend Rs.267 cr in 6 cities under action plans for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 2015-16. Punjab will get central assistance of Rs.319 cr while Uttarakhand gets Rs.134 cr under the State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) approved today by an inter-ministerial Apex Committee chaired by Shri Madhusudhan Prasad, Secretary (Urban Development).

            As per Atal Mission Guidelines, universal coverage of urban households with water supply and sewerage connections and ensuring water availability @ 135 liters per capita per day gets priority followed by provision of storm water drains, urban transport and parks and green spaces.

            Under the SAAP for 2015-16, Punjab Government will invest Rs.365 cr in 46 water supply related projects, Rs.288 cr in 37 sewerage and septage management projects, Rs.56 cr for improving urban transport in Amritsar and Rs.12 cr for providing open parks and green spaces in 16 mission cities.

            In Punjab, coverage of households in 16 mission cities with water supply connections ranged from 28% in Khanna to 93% in Mohali. Water supply is in the range of 67 litres per capita per day in Khanna to 240 liters in Jalandhar as against the norm of 135 lpcd for urban areas.

            Punjab has reported the best infrastructure in the country in respect of sewerage treatment with availability of 100% sewerage treatment capacity in 12 of the 16 mission cities. Only Amritsar, Barnala, Batala and Firozpur are lagging behind in this regard, for which projects have been proposed under SAAP for 2015-16.

            Under SAAP for 2015-16, Punjab Government has proposed to invest Rs.154 cr on various basic infrastructure projects in Amritsar, Rs.96 cr in Ludhiana, Rs.73 cr in Batala,  Rs.73 cr in Khanna, Rs.56 cr in SAS Nagar, Rs.46 cr in Barnala, Rs.44 cr in Jalandhar, Rs.38 cr in Muktsar, Rs.33 cr in Abohar, Rs.33 cr in Pathankot, Rs.20 cr in Patiala, Rs.17 cr in Hoshiarput, Rs.15 cr in Moga, Rs.11 cr in Firozpur, Rs.10 cr in Malerkotla and Rs.2.0 cr in Bhatinda.

            Uttarakhand Government has proposed to spend Rs.133 cr in 20 water supply related projects in 6 mission cities, Rs.110 cr in 6 sewerage and septage management projects, Rs.18 cr in 5 storm water drainage projects and 6 cr on provision of open parks and green spaces.

            In 6 Atal Mission cities in Uttarakhand, coverage of households with water connections is 11% in Rudrapur, 15% in Kashipur, 49% in Rourkee, 78% in Dehradun, 80% in Haldwani and 90% in Haridwar.

            Water supply is @ 45 lpcd in Kashipur, 49 lpcd in Rudrapur, 109 lpcd in Rourkee, 133 lpcd in Haldwani, 135 lpcd in Dehradun  and 187 lpcd in Haridwar.

            There are no sewerage networks in Rudrapur and Kashipur while the coverage is to the extent of 10% in Haldwani, 15% in Dehradun, 23% in Rourkee and 52% in Haridwar.

            Under SAAP for 2015-16 under Atal Mission, Uttarakhand Government has proposed to invest Rs.67 cr in Rudrapur, Rs.59 cr in Dehradun, Rs.50 cr in Kathgodam, Rs.39 cr in Haridwar, Rs.37 cr in Haldwani and Rs.37 cr in Roorki.

            With today’s approval, the Ministry of Urban Development has approved city level Service Level Improvement Plans (SLIPs) for 469 cities and towns in 20 States with a total project expenditure of Rs.20,137 cr out of which central assistance will be about Rs.10,000 cr.

AAR

January 7,2015