India News | SBM-U 2.0 Aims to Make Facilities Better, Take Processing of Municipal Solid Waste to 100 Pc

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) The second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) is aimed at making the facilities better and taking processing of municipal solid waste to 100 percent from the current 70 percent, an official in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the second phase of the SBM-Urban and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) on Friday.

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According to the government, the outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around Rs 1.41 lakh crore.

The official said the ministry will collaborate with the Jal Shakti Ministry to ensure convergence with the second phase of SBM-Rural and Jal Jeevan Mission for areas such as villages on the outskirts of cities that have both urban and rural features.

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The Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry had also been in talks with international agencies regarding cooperation and funding, the official said.

He said the first phase of SBM-U has focused on the construction of toilets and making cities open defecation-free (ODF), but its second phase will also target to make facilities better, reclaim all landfills and take processing of municipal solid waste to 100 percent from the current 70 percent.

Also, the second phase of the AMRUT will provide universal coverage of water supply to all 4,378 statutory towns, an increase from the goal of covering 500 cities in the first phase.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister's Office in a statement said in line with the vision of the prime minister, SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 have been designed to realise the aspiration to make all cities garbage-free and water secure.

These flagship missions signify a step forward in the march towards effectively addressing the challenges of rapidly urbanising India and will also help contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)