Government Committed to Constructing New Cities to Address Rapid Urban Growth: Manohar Lal
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New Delhi, Dec 10 (NationPress) The government is dedicated to building new cities to satisfy the increasing demands of swift urban expansion, stated Union Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Manohar Lal, on Tuesday. He added that under Modi government 3.0, urban infrastructure projects are being executed at an unprecedented pace.
In the initial six months of Modi 3.0, water treatment facilities with a capacity of 549 MLD have been approved, along with 752 MLD sewage treatment plants, he mentioned.
“The government is concentrating on creating new cities to fulfill the demands of urbanization,” he expressed while speaking to media representatives.
In a presentation showcasing the achievements from 2014 to 2024 compared to the pre-2014 period, Manohar Lal noted, “The number of cities with a functioning Metro Rail Network has risen to 23 between 2014 and 2024, compared to just five before 2014.”
The presentation further highlighted that over the last decade, the length of the operational Metro Rail network in India expanded to 993 km, in contrast to 248 km until 2014.
“On average, 6 km of Metro rail lines have been commissioned monthly over the past ten years, compared to only 0.68 km monthly before 2014,” the Minister stated.
In terms of urban transport, the minister added that in the last decade, 19,752 buses were sanctioned, in contrast to 14,405 buses sanctioned between 2004 and 2014.
Emphasizing the successes under the PM Street Vendors’ Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM Svanidhi), Manohar Lal mentioned that 94.3 lakh loans have been distributed to over 67 lakh beneficiaries.
“Under this initiative, 43 lakh digitally active street vendors have conducted transactions exceeding Rs 4,23,275 crore,” according to the minister’s presentation.
As part of the Smart Cities Mission, 8,076 projects across 100 cities were initiated with a total investment of Rs 164,706 crore, as detailed in the presentation.
These projects encompass 1,556 Smart Mobility projects completed at a cost of Rs 36,449 crore, 636 Smart Governance projects finalized at Rs 16,035 crore, 1,284 Vibrant Urban Spaces projects completed with an investment of Rs 10,120 crore, 829 Social Infrastructure projects accomplished with Rs 11,847 crore, and 667 Smart Energy projects completed with an expenditure of Rs 13,712 crore.
Focusing on the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2.0, Minister Manohar Lal indicated that in-principle approval has been accelerated for over 6 lakh houses across 29 States and Union Territories to expedite urbanization.
He shared insights on certain states that have been sanctioned more than 50,000 houses this year, with UP receiving 1.10 lakh houses, Maharashtra getting 92,000 houses, West Bengal with 55,000, and Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh each receiving 50,000 houses, among others.
