SRINAGAR: Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary today impressed upon the officers of the H&UDD to come up with a comprehensive policy for meeting the housing needs of the urban population of the UT, especially that of the twin cities of Srinagar and Jammu.Dr. Mehta was speaking during a meeting to assess how the Department’s flagship programmes were doing. Along with other interested Department authorities, the meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, H&UDD, Commissioner SMC, and Commissioner JMC. The Chief Secretary noted that there has been a noticeable increase in demand for housing in cities as a result of the rapid urban population growth.He said that the Department must be aware of this component of urban management at all times. For the sake of the urban poor, he proposed for saturating the housing demands under PMAY (U). He implied that the rapidly diminishing land resources are being further stressed by the haphazard construction of homes in urban areas. The Department now has the additional duty of providing individuals in metropolitan areas with planned and affordable housing options. In the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu, he requested the identification of suitable land for vertical development. Dr Mehta further emphasised the need to raise these cities’ positions in terms of cleanliness. He expressed the expectation that both Srinagar and Jammu will perform better and rank among the cleanest cities in the nation in the next rankings of the cities. He emphasised the importance of quickly finishing all drainage and sewerage projects in order to improve the hygienic conditions in and around the city areas.He suggested looking into the prospect of the STPs producing electricity in order to make them self-sufficient waste treatment facilities. He emphasised the importance of finishing developmental projects on time while also taking note of them. In addition to requesting that the projects under AMRUT 2.0 be awarded in a timely manner, he requested that the final few projects under AMRUT 1.0 be completed within a month. The Chief Secretary requested more personnel and equipment for the twin cities’ Smart City programmes, even during night shifts.He emphasised that all of these initiatives are meant to enhance the aesthetics or attractiveness of these places, thus they should be carried out with caution and hurry so that everyone may see and explore them. He requested that Lal Chowk’s beautification projects be finished in the first week of August, that Foreshore Road and Chuntkul be upgraded by the end of the month, and that Riverfront be finished by September of this year. In Jammu, he requested that the public be given access to the renovated Apsara Road by August 15th, the Tawi River front with its ponds by the end of this month, and that construction of the Gandhi Nagar Rotary begin right away in order to improve the beauty of this city. The gathering was informed about all the programmes and projects currently being carried out in the UT by Prashant Goyal, Principal Secretary, H&UDD. He gave specifics, noting that the Department’s main initiatives include the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atamnirbhar Nidhi (PMSVANidhi), Smart City Mission (Jammu/Srinagar), and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). Approximately 78 of the 83 projects under AMRUT 1.0 have already been finished, he continued, and the other 13 will be finished in September.UT Water Action Plan (UTWAP) for 153 projects totaling 1665.10 Cr for 78 ULBs of the UT covering 99 projects under water supply, 4 projects under Sewerage & Septage Management, and 50 under Rejuvenation of water bodies was reportedly authorised by the Apex Committee of MoHUA regarding AMRUT 2.0. The PMAY (Urban) Mission’s deadline for finishing sanctioned homes and projects has been extended to December 31, 2024, it was also announced at the conference. The meeting was informed about the Smart City Mission, which was started in 2017 with the goal of improving city infrastructure and giving its residents improved access to essential amenities. Two cities—Srinagar and Jammu—have been covered by this mission, with project costs of 3634.00 crore and 3581.89 crore, respectively. In total, 137 and 124 projects have been started in the smart cities of Jammu and Srinagar, respectively. These projects include ones that fall under the convergence mode, Smart City financing, and PPP Mode. It was stated that SBM (Urban) was introduced in 2015. Additionally, the SBM(U) Phase-I aims to end open defecation, dispose of solid waste in a scientific manner, and change behaviour to promote good sanitation.In all ULBs of the UT, phase-I has resulted in the construction of 2685 community toilets/public restrooms and 52232 individual household latrines. Additionally, the SWM component has been continued under Phase-II, for which the MoHUA has received an action plan for approval of 753.57 Crore.
