Budget 2024: Reactions On Govt’s Aspirational Goals of Swachh Bharat Mission

While announcing her speech for Union Budget 2024 today, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that in partnership with the State Governments and Multilateral Development Banks the centre will promote water supply, sewage treatment and solid waste management projects and services for 100 large cities through bankable projects. These projects will also envisage use of treated water for irrigation and filling up of tanks in nearby areas.

Commenting on the above announcement, Gurmit Singh Arora, National President, Indian Plumbing Association said, "The commitment of the Modi government to facilitate projects related to provision of water supply, sewage treatment, and solid waste management in 100 large cities is an essential milestone in ensuring the sustainability of urban development. As such, this policy action plan is wholly pegged on the cooperation with states and the multilateral development banks, which will fill the acute shortage in infrastructure in the burgeoning urban centers. It is also safe to assume this is a direct outcome of the inefficiency of service delivery."

In 2019, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 67% of urban households had piped water supply, while 78.7% had access to toilets. India generates about 62 million tonnes of waste annually- only about 68 per cent is collected and 28 per cent treated. If aimed at the metropolises, which account disproportionately for these numbers, it would really help.

"Finally, the support from MDBs will also facilitate access to global experience and funding that would be essential for embracing state-of-the-art technologies in water and waste management, thereby helping to realize the aspirational goals of the Swachh Bharat Mission," Gurmit Singh Arora further added.

The government has skillfully balanced the three components of this budget-welfare spending, capital expenditure, and fiscal restraint. The government's persistent focus on creating and revitalising infrastructure projects will help the construction industry as a whole to ensure growth.