New Delhi: The strategy to step up private participation in the urban sector needs coordinated action of all stakeholders, governments at different tiers, financial market players, project management experts, and planners, reveals the Economic Survey 2024-25 tabled in Parliament on Friday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“Capacities to conceptualise projects, develop sector-specific innovative strategies for execution, and develop high-expertise areas such as risk and revenue sharing, contract management, conflict resolution, and project closure need to improve substantially,” the report said.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban
Building on the success of achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U), SBM-Urban 2.0 was launched in 2021. It envisions creating ‘garbage-free cities,’ integrating waste management and sanitation practices aligned with sustainability and circular economy principles.
“The impact of the SBM-U was well recognised. According to the 78th round report of NSS, 97 per cent of households in urban areas report access to toilets. Niti Aayog Sector Report (2021) reported that SBM-U was well aligned with sustainable development goals and national priorities and was effectively implemented. Further, to encourage cities to improve urban sanitation, the government developed the ODF, ODF+, ODF++, and Water+ protocols to evaluate urban local bodies (ULBs) on standardised parameters of sustainable sanitation,” the report highlighted.
As per the data, 63.7 lakh individual household latrines have been constructed, 6.4 lakh community and public toilets have been constructed, and 93,756 wards come under 100 per cent door-to-door collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) under SBM-U.
Swachhata App
Additionally, leveraging ICT-enabled tools strengthened the mission governance; the Swachhata App effectively allows citizens to report grievances, directing them to the relevant municipal corporation for resolution. With 2.08 crore users, the app has handled 2.55 crore complaints, resolving 2.39 crore.
The Google toilet locator allows users to upload information about community and public toilets in their cities as 'SBM Toilet' on Google Maps and provide feedback. As of now, 67,407 toilets across 3,326 cities are mapped on Google Maps, including those in hospitals, malls, bus stands, railway stations, metro stations, markets, and more.
Urban Housing
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana—Urban (PMAY-U), launched in 2015, aims to provide permanent housing in urban areas. As of November 25, 2024, a total of 1.18 crore houses have been sanctioned, with 1.14 crore grounded and over 89 lakh completed. PMAY-U 2.0 was launched in September 2024 to assist an additional one crore households. Currently, 29 states and union territories have signed agreements to implement PMAY-U 2.0, with approval granted for 6 lakh houses in FY25.
Urban transport
Metro rail and rapid rail transit systems are operational or under construction in 29 cities across India, with 1,010 kilometres currently operational in 23 cities and an additional 980 kilometres underway. As of January 5, 2025, 62.7 km were operationalised in FY25, and daily ridership reached 10.2 million. These systems have led to considerable savings in emissions, time, vehicle operating costs, accidents, and infrastructure maintenance.
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
The AMRUT scheme was launched in 2015 to focus on improving urban water management in 500 cities. As a result, tap water coverage has increased to 70 per cent, and sewerage coverage has risen to 62 per cent. The mission has created or augmented a water treatment capacity of 4,649 million litres per day and developed 2,439 parks, adding 5,070 acres of green space. In 2021, AMRUT 2.0 was introduced to expand coverage to all statutory towns and cities, with an allocation of Rs 2.77 lakh crore from FY22 to FY26. So far, this phase has initiated 8,923 projects worth Rs 1.89 lakh crore. AMRUT 2.0 actively involves self-help groups and promotes innovative technologies.
Smart Cities Mission
Launched in 2015, the mission aims to develop smart cities with essential infrastructure, a high quality of life, and a sustainable environment. As of January 13, 2025, 8,058 projects worth Rs 1.64 lakh crore have been proposed, with 7,479 projects worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore completed.
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