Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on AMRUT-The Need to Reorganize Urban Water Governance

• Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee presented its report in the Lok Sabha on the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0).
• The report highlights the ground realities of urban infrastructure in India, particularly in water supply, sewerage, and wastewater management.
• The Committee not only identifies serious implementation challenges but also offers key recommendations to make the mission sustainable, financially viable, and institutionally robust.

AMRUT Mission:

• Implementing Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
• Type of Scheme: Centrally Sponsored Scheme
• Launch:
• AMRUT: 2015
• AMRUT 2.0: 2021 onwards

Objectives:

• Urban water supply
• Sewerage and septage management
• Stormwater drainage
• Green spaces and parks
• Basic infrastructure for Non-Motorised Transport (NMT)

Financing and Financial Capacity

Key Challenges

• Inadequate financing for urban infrastructure, especially in backward and underserved cities.
• Absence of sustainable funding sources for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of assets.
• Weak revenue-generation capacity of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), leading to rapid deterioration of assets.

Committee’s Recommendations

• Increase central and multilateral financial support (World Bank, ADB, etc.).
• Aggressive promotion of Municipal Bonds and Public–Private Partnership (PPP) models.
• Creation of a Dedicated O&M Fund for AMRUT assets.

Implementation and Institutional Framework: Neglect of Local Governance

Key Challenges

Slow pace of implementation

• Projects worth ~₹1.90 lakh crore approved under AMRUT 2.0
• Only ~₹48,050 crore worth of projects completed
  • Limited role of ULBs; dominance of State Parastatals and SPVs.
  • Lack of integrated water management and long-term urban planning.

Committee’s Recommendations

• A national roadmap for strengthening the institutional and technical capacity of ULBs.
• 100% submission of City Water Action Plans (CWAPs) by all ULBs.
• National-level assessment and forecasting of urban drinking water demand for the next 25–30 years.
• Strict enforcement of convergence among central schemes such as AMRUT, SBM-U, Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban), and Smart Cities Mission.

Technical, Operational, and Monitoring Issues

Key Challenges

Poor reliability of data related to:

• Water supply coverage
• Non-Revenue Water (NRW)
• Water metering
• Wastewater reuse

Severe shortfall in sewage treatment:

• Total urban sewage generation: ~48,004 MLD
• Installed treatment capacity: ~30,001 MLD (2021)

A large share of wastewater continues to be discharged untreated into rivers.

Committee’s Recommendations

• Formulation of a National Urban Wastewater Reuse Policy.
• Rapid expansion of sewage treatment capacity and promotion of Reuse–Recycle models.
• Reduction of Non-Revenue Water through:
• Incentive-based mechanisms
• Accelerated deployment of smart water metering.

Way Forward

• The Parliamentary Committee’s report makes it clear that AMRUT is a necessary but incomplete reform initiative. Its success requires not just financial resources, but also:
  • Empowered Urban Local Bodies
  • Reliable, data-driven planning
  • A long-term Urban Water Vision
  • Financial self-reliance of cities
  • Strong institutional coordination

• If AMRUT is redesigned to be climate-sensitive, financially sustainable, and citizen-centric, it can truly become the foundation of India’s urban future.