In order to address this, the Rural-Urban Transition Policy aims at providing urban civic amenities to the people in the identified rural areas much before the areas are formally notified as urban areas. The policy allows creation of special budget for implementation of infrastructure projects and delivery of services while actively involving the elected representatives, officials, and all other stakeholders in the planning, execution and monitoring of the transition process.
“Under the policy, rural areas will be declared as urban areas when the tenure of the existing elected representatives expires. During the interim period, the notified rural area will be taken up for upgradation of infrastructure and services to provide all urban services on par with the adjacent urban areas. Ward delimitation and other administrative measures will also be put in place during the period so that the area will start functioning as a full-fledged urban area with all facilities from the effective date,” it added.
Steering and implementation committees comprising top officials including chief secretary and experts from various domains will be engaged in the policy. This will ensure convergence of government schemes and inter-departmental coordination for a smooth and seamless transition of the peri-urban and rurban areas into full-fledged urban areas, the release stated.