Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the Modi government has sanctioned 1.19 crore houses under the PMAY-Urban and 75 lakh houses have already been delivered to beneficiaries.
Speaking at the ‘Connect Karo 2023’ event here, the minister said the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) has brought in a pan-India behavioural shift towards cleanliness, according to a statement.
Solid waste processing has gone up from 17 per cent in 2014 to 76 per cent today, the housing and urban affairs minister said.
He said the construction of about 73.6 lakh individual and community toilets have made cities and towns open defecation free.
Talking about urban transport, Puri said India has 860-km of operational metro lines and about 917 km are under construction.
“Soon, we are going to be the world’s second largest metro network. We must be proud of our metro system,” the statement quoted Puri as saying at the event.
According to the minister, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)mission has addressed basic social infrastructure such as water, sanitation, and public open spaces in 500 cities by providing more than 1.4 crore water tap connections and 1.08 crore sewer connections.
It has also initiated a wide-ranging set of municipal reforms such as GIS-based master planning, Online Building Permission Systems (OBPS), municipal bonds, and improved creditworthiness, he added.
The statement stated that at the event, initiatives such as ‘Clean Air Accelerator’ and ‘TheCityFix Labs’ were also launched.
‘Connect Karo 2023’ is a WRI India event that focuses on exploring innovative solutions for critical environmental and sustainability challenges, bringing together experts, policymakers, government officials and researchers.
“These initiatives, in collaboration with esteemed partners, aim to tackle pollution, promote data-driven planning, and accelerate nature-based solutions for water, air and green space management. We are confident that these initiatives will create a lasting impact and contribute towards building resilient and livable cities,” WRI India CEO Madhav Pai said.