• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). 

• SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 have been designed to realise the aspiration to make all cities garbage-free and water secure.

• These missions signify a step forward in the march towards effectively addressing the challenges of rapidly urbanising India and will also help contribute towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

• The two flagship missions have augmented the capacity to deliver basic services of water supply and sanitation to the citizens.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0

• SBM-U 2.0 envisions to make all cities garbage-free and ensure grey and black water management in all cities other than those covered under AMRUT, make all urban local bodies open defecation free-plus (ODF+) and those with a population of less than one lakh as ODF++, thereby achieving the vision of safe sanitation in urban areas. 

• The mission will focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilising the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management.

• The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around Rs 1.41 lakh crore.

AMRUT 2.0

• AMRUT 2.0 aims at providing 100 per cent coverage of water supply to all households in around 4,700 urban local bodies by providing about 2.68 crore tap connections and 100 per cent coverage of sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities by providing around 2.64 crore sewer or septage connections, which will benefit more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas. 

• AMRUT 2.0 will adopt the principles of a circular economy and promote conservation and rejuvenation of surface and groundwater bodies.

• The mission will promote data-led governance in water management and technology sub-mission to leverage the latest global technologies and skills.

• The outlay of AMRUT 2.0 is around Rs 2.87 lakh crore. 

A brief look at AMRUT:

• The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched on June 25, 2015 in 500 cities selected across the country.

• AMRUT was a centrally sponsored scheme with a total central outlay of Rs 50,000 crore spread over 5 years, from financial year 2015-2016, which has been extended up to March, 2021.

• AMRUT has been ensuring water security by adding 1.1 crore household water tap connections and 85 lakh sewer connections, thus benefiting more than four crore people.

Objectives of AMRUT:

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 (eg: parks).

3) Reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorised transport (eg: walking and cycling).

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