THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre’s Amrut (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) Scheme which replaced JnNURM is going to be less beneficial for the state capital.
According to sources, the scheme is a setback and the Centre is not offering much to improve the present needs of the city. AMRUT focuses on thrust areas including water supply, sewerage facilities, septage management, stormwater drains, and facilities for non-motorised transport, parking spaces, green spaces, parks and recreation centres.
A top official of the city corporation said that Thiruvananthapuram was the only city in the state to have a sewage treatment plant. “We need a minimum of Rs 500 crores to establish sewage networks and complete the project. The AMRUT scheme allots fund only for projects which can be executed in a year. Land acquisition is one of the prime concerns and only projects with available land would be considered by the Centre for the scheme,” said the official.
The state government has asked all seven urban local bodies eligible for the scheme to prepare Service Level Improvement Plan (SLIP) for the scheme.
“SLIP focuses on the existing situation of various basic infrastructure in the pipeline. The government would be preparing a state level annual action plan based on SLIPs submitted by the seven cities. We would be submitting SLIP within two weeks,” said the official.
Officials say that many of the thrust areas mooted under the scheme are not feasible for the state. “The scheme moots non-motorised transportation. We don’t have the basic infrastructure and by non-motorised transportation the centre aims at promoting cycling and water transport. We do not have proper drainage or footpaths,” said the official.
“The Centre’s share would be just 50 per cent and the state and the urban local body should bear the rest. If we fail to execute the project in one year, we will have to return the fund to the Centre which would be distributed to other local bodies who perform well,” said the official.
