Six projects of Rs 176 cr approved for city, minister replies in LS

Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, six projects of Rs 175.94 crore have been approved by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in Chandigarh.

In response to a question raised by city MP Manish Tewari in the Lok Sabha on development of urban infrastructure in Chandigarh, Tokhan Sahu, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, stated that: “The six projects include two water supply projects of Rs 60 crore and four sewerage/septage management projects of Rs 115.94 crore.” He said the contract had been awarded for four projects of Rs 105.68 crore and total works of Rs 31.83 crore had been completed.

During the Parliament session, Tewari sought to know the status of the infrastructure projects specifically sanctioned for Chandigarh and the current stage of implementation of these projects between June 1, 2015, and March 15, 2025. He further asked the details of the total funds allocated for urban infrastructure development along with their utilisation and the number of urban infrastructure projects sanctioned, delayed and completed under various central schemes during the said period.

In reply, the minister stated that under AMRUT, Chandigarh had completed 12 projects worth Rs 57.41 crore, which include seven water supply projects of Rs 35.87 crore, two sewerage/septage management projects of Rs 20.2 crore and three green spaces and park projects of Rs 1.34 crore. “All 12 projects have been completed,” he said, and added that a total of 97 projects amounting to Rs 2,694 crore had been taken under Smart City Mission in Chandigarh, out of which 96 projects (89 per cent of total projects) amounting to Rs 2,692 crore had been completed.

“Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) all wards have 100 per cent door-to-door-collection, all wards have 100 per cent segregation of municipal solid waste. Out of total waste generated, 471 MT per day, 100 per cent of it is processed in Chandigarh,” the minister added.

“The answer to my question in Parliament on the urban infrastructure deficit in Chandigarh tells a very interesting story of the skewed utilisation of Smart City Mission funds in Chandigarh. A bulk of the money has been misutilised for regular municipal projects only,” Tewari said.

Chandigarh