States to be penalised for delay in transferring AMRUT funds

States and Union Territories will be penalised for any delay in transfer of funds to urban local bodies (ULBs) under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Rajya Sabha was informed today.
States and UTs shall release the central assistance, along with the State/UT share, to the ULBs within seven working days of the release of central share, failing which penal interest will be levied, Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo said in a written reply.
He said this provision was made in the Mission Guidelines to avoid delays in the execution of projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), which was launched on June 25.

The minister stated that AMRUT is a time bound programme to be implemented over a period of five years from 2015 with stipulated reforms to be completed in four years.
To avoid delays in implementation, the Ministry of Urban Development has also left the task of preparation, appraisal and execution of projects to the States/UT unlike in the past under JNNURM.
Under AMRUT, central assistance ranges from one-third of the project cost for cities with a population of above 10 lakh to 50 per cent for cities/towns with a population of less than 10 lakh for projects pertaining to water supply, sewerage, septage management, storm water drains and urban transport.

The central government will bear 50 per cent of the cost of projects related to development of green spaces and parks and 100 per cent of the cost for capacity building and implementation of reforms.