799 projects worth Rs 2,952 Cr taken up by states to eliminate waterlogging points: Govt

The states and Union territories have taken up nearly 800 projects worth Rs 2,952 crore to eliminate 3,770 waterlogging points under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the government informed Parliament on Thursday.

A total of 633 projects worth Rs 1,180 crore have so far been completed, which has resulted in the elimination of around 2,300 waterlogging points in the states and Union territories, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) ministry said in a statement, quoting a written reply by Minister of State Kaushal Kishore to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The statement said to complement the efforts of the states, AMRUT, which is being implemented by the ministry in 500 cities and towns across the country, focusses on the development of basic urban infrastructure, including sewerage and septage management, and storm-water drainage.

''Under AMRUT mission, states/Union territories have taken up 799 projects worth Rs 2,952 crore for elimination of 3,770 water-logging points,'' the ministry said.

Waterlogging is caused by many factors, including unplanned urbanisation, it added.

The management of waterlogging falls under the purview of the states and Union territories concerned as urban planning, including town planning, is one of the functions of the urban local bodies as enumerated in the 12th Schedule of the Constitution, according to the statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the second phase of AMRUT in October last year.