A new scheme Jal Hi Amrit under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 has been approved by the Union Government. The scheme aims to incentivise the state governments and union territories to ensure the reuse of good quality treated wastewater through the efficient use of water and sewage treatment plants (STPs) in rural and urban areas.
Additionally, the scheme is expected to enable competition among cities and around 140 STPs with a total capacity of 5,000 million litres per day (mld) have been selected. STPs will be rewarded based on their size and performance under a clean water credit system framework (valid for six months). The reward amount ranges from Rs 2.5 million for three-star STPs with a capacity of less than 5 mld to Rs 80 million for five-star rated STPs of atleast 100 mld capacity and above.
Moreover, around 68 projects costing around Rs 30.20 billion and 41 projects costing approximately Rs 38.05 billion are proposed to be completed in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh under AMRUT 2.0. In addition, foundation stones will be laid and inauguration is targeted for 263 projects worth Rs 93.52 billion.