AMRUT in J&K

While developing cities we had missed certain things in planning part as such despite Master Plans with clear cut guidelines of how new townships, cities or even colonies will come up with basic infra of roads, water, electricity, drainage and sewage have to be taken care for a proper habitat for citizens, but nothing moved as per these guidelines. Haphazard development of unauthorised colonies, with no or least provisions for these basic amenities have come up. Keeping in view of all these problems GoI initiated AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) with sole focus to transform 500 cities across India with objective to provide tap drinking water, proper drainage, sewage, parks and switching to non petroleum mode of transport. Three cities of Jammu, Srinagar and Anantnag are part of project AMRUT. Work is on such schemes with specific targets and time to time monitoring with proper feedback is undertaken by MoHUA and lots of such projects are on in all three cities, some completed, some pending and some simply non starter. Floods every rainy season, scarcity of drinking water specifically in Jammu, lack of proper drainage and septage and of course unplanned exponential expansion of these cities have taken catastrophic proportions. Even while implementing these projects citizens have suffered enormously as dig it, dump it and forget it policy of local authorities have caused much inconvenience to public beyond words. Months are being taken to cover small stretches of such development works due to unacceptable reasons leaving dug out open drains with sewage overrunning the roads and drains together with malba dumped even after completion for days together. Parks and parking are part of city development, any delays on one part means overall hardships to public. Better coordination between implementing agencies is required. It’s time for self driven restrains and constrains as such better overall management is much desired instead of just somehow do it attitude.