Providing basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households and build amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged is a national priority. An estimate of the funds required over a 20 year period, at 2009-10 prices, was made by the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) during 2011. The Committee estimated that Rs. 39.2 lakh crore was required for creation of urban infrastructure, including Rs. 17.3 lakh crore for urban roads and Rs. 8 lakh crore for services, such as water supply, sewerage, solid waste management and storm water drains. Moreover, the requirement for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) was separately estimated to be Rs. 19.9 lakh crore.

Learnings from the earlier Mission have shown that infrastructure creation should have a direct impact on the real needs of people, such as providing taps and toilet connections to all households. This means that the focus should be on infrastructure creation that has a direct link to provision of better services to people and this was explicitly stated by the President of India in his speeches to the Joint Sessions of the Parliament on 9 June, 2014 and 23 February, 2015.

Therefore, the purpose of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is to

1. ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection;
2. increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces (e.g. parks); and,
3. reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling). All these outcomes are valued by citizens, particularly women, and indicators and standards have been prescribed by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in the form of Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs).

Five hundred cities will be taken up under AMRUT. The list of cities will be notified at an appropriate time. The category of cities that will be covered in the AMRUT is given below:

1. All Cities and Towns with a population of over one lakh with notified Municipalities, including Cantonment Boards (Civilian areas),
2. All Capital Cities/Towns of States/ UTs, not covered in 2.1(i),
3. All Cities/ Towns classified as Heritage Cities by MoUD under the HRIDAY Scheme,
4. Thirteen Cities and Towns on the stem of the main rivers with a population above 75,000 and less than 1 lakh, and
5. Ten Cities from hill states, islands and tourist destinations (not more than one from each State).

The components of the AMRUT consist of capacity building, reform implementation, water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage, urban transport and development of green spaces and parks. During the process of planning, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will strive to include some smart features in the physical infrastructure components.

View AMRUT Mission Statement and Guidelines

Visit AMRUT website