Govt to tap markets to fund smart city, affordable homes

Centre has also approved a Rs 300 cr plan to improve solid waste management in the national capital

The government is planning to mobilise cash from the markets to fund the smart city and housing for all projects. The money generated would be directly poured into the central government’s mega-urban schemes, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
 
The government has cleared around Rs 48,000 crore for the smart city initiative and Rs 50,000 crore for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). It has also allocated Rs 14,650 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) by 2019-2020. In all, it plans to spend around Rs 3 lakh crore on various urban projects.
 
“We are at an advanced stage of considering market borrowings to finance some of the mega urban schemes,” Puri said at an event in New Delhi on Friday, his first public address on urban schemes after taking over as the minister. “Of course, we have to be careful on how that has to be done (borrowing).”
 
Besides, around Rs 1.80 lakh crore would be required as central assistance for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) by 2022. The government wants to ensure housing for all urban poor by 2022 under the PMAY-U.
 
Puri did not specify the amount the government was looking to mobilise from the market. “Once the utilisation of funds which are coming from the Centre as planned is over, there is a need for additional incentives to go beyond. We require a huge amount of money as against the present trend of budgetary allocation. Money is available in the market,” he said.
 
Amid concerns that results of the Smart City Mission were not being seen on the ground, Puri said tangible gains on the ground would be seen in the next few months.
 
Underlining that 340 cities, out of the 500 selected for AMRUT, have got credit ratings to enable them to issue municipal bonds and mobile resources, the minister said Rs 200 crore has already been mobilised.
 
The Centre has also approved a Rs 300-crore plan to improve solid waste management in the national capital. Puri said the north, south and east municipal corporations of Delhi would spend Rs 100 crore each for procuring machines to collect, transport and store solid waste.
 
Puri said about 3.7 million individual household toilets have been built under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) since October 2014. Also, the country would lose the rural tag by 2050. “According to the 2011 census, urban population of our country was 37 crore (370 million).
 
Now it is almost 40 crore (400 mn). By 2030, the urban population will be 60 crore (600 mn). It is projected that by 2050, India will shed the rural tag.”

The Road Map

• Govt has cleared Rs 48,000 crore for smart city initiative, Rs 50,000 crore for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
• Allocated Rs 14,650 cr for Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) by 2019-2020
• Plans to spend Rs 3 lakh crore on various urban projects
• Around Rs 1.80 lakh cr will be required as central assistance for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban by 2022
• 340 cities, out of 500 selected for AMRUT, have got credit ratings to enable them to issue municipal bonds and mobile resources
• Centre has approved a Rs 300-crore plan to improve solid waste management in the national capital