Govt approves 53 projects under AMRUT scheme

Bhubaneswar: For infrastructure development in nine AMRUT towns of the state, State Level High Powered Steering Committee (SHSPC) meeting on Thursday approved detailed project reports (DRS) of 53 projects worth Rs 538 crore.
Chairing the meeting, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi directed the department to expedite implementation and commission those within the scheduled time.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary G Mathivathnan outlined the need and expected outcomes of the projects while Additional Secretary Prem Kumar Jha presented technical and financial details with timelines for implementation.
With these, the total number of projects for AMRUT towns reached 148 with total estimated cost of around Rs 1100 crore. Around 97.5 % of this sanctioned value has been devoted towards improving water supply and sewerage infrastructure and 2.5 % towards development of parks and other civic services.
The Chief Secretary further directed the department to drop non-starter projects approved earlier and substitute them with new ones in interest of the civic services in the towns. The department was asked to focus on water supply and sewerage projects.
Padhi emphasized that no area of the AMRUT towns be left uncovered with water supply by end of the project period.
The AMRUT scheme was started in 2015-16 with a target to complete the projects by 2019-20.