Cuts for flagship urban schemes

The Union Budget’s primary focus on addressing rural distress has hit the NDA government’s flagship urban policies, such as Smart City Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

In the previous budget, the Finance Ministry made an annual allocation of Rs.7,060 crore to the Smart City Mission. But this time, according to the budget documents, the Ministry has only set aside Rs.3,205 crore. A senior official at the Ministry of Urban Development told

The Hindu that for successful implementation of the first and the second phases of the Smart City Mission the Ministry needs Rs. 10,000 crore.

Similarly, AMRUT, a policy that aims to transfer powers of designing and building cities to municipalities, has faced a massive budget cut. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, which falls under the control of the Urban Development Ministry, is not happy with the budget either.