Action Plan For AMRUT Cities Gets In-principle Approval

BHUBANESWAR: The State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) of 2016-17 for 9 AMRUT cities comprising of 143 projects involving the investment of Rs 537 crore got in principle approval of State High Powered Steering Committee (SHPSC) meeting on Friday.

Taking stock of the preparedness for implementation of the projects, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi asked the department to expedite the utilisation of the funds and avail the incentive grant.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary G. Mathivathanan said that incentive up to 10% of the total project value would be available for the progress of the projects as per the milestones set in it.

Padhi advised the department to conduct energy and water audit in all the AMRUT cities.

Special Secretary H & UD-cum Secretary Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund ( OUIDF) Sisir Kumar Ratho presented the projects and outlined the issues for discussion.

It may be pertinent here to mention that these 143 projects for the Mission cities of Odisha under AMRUT were worked out through a long course of consultation and consensus from city to State level in four phases including consultation meetings with concerned MPs, MLAs, Mayors and Chairpersons.

The projects will be submitted to the state government for onward transmission to Government of India.

Ratho said that the funding pattern of the project would be on 50:50 cost sharing basis between Central and State Govt. Besides, the State or concerned ULB would make appropriate cost recovery mechanism for operation and management of the projects.

The approved projects include 91 water supply projects of worth Rs487 Cr , 4 sewerage & septage management projects of worth Rs.20.55 Cr and 48 other projects including parks of worth Rs.22.85 Cr. These projects would be implemented in the cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada.

Meanwhile, ULBs and public health engineers have been trained, and the capacity building at ULB level has already been taken up for expeditious implementation of the projects.  So far 239 engineers, town planners and executive officers have been trained.

Exposure visits have been organised for 33 elected representatives from AMRUT towns.