Rs 256 crores transferred under Million plus Agglomerations programme

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala: Under the Million Plus Agglomerate Programme of the 15^th Finance commission headed by N K Singh, seven cities and their adjacent towns have received a grant of Rs 256 crores.

Seven cities and adjacent urban local bodies, with a population of over ten lakhs, will receive Rs 1402 crores over a period of five years. The allocated funds have to be used to improve the existing sanitation, clean drinking water and solid waste management facilities in the respective cities.

The city of Kollam, under the programme, has received Rs 23 crores, while Kochi and its surrounding urban areas received Rs 45 crores. Thiruvananthapuram, on the other hand, got Rs 35 crores, Thrissur Rs 39 crores, Malappuram Rs 36 crores, and Kannur Rs 35 crores are other chosen cities that have received funds under the Million Plus Agglomerations programme of the Finance Commission.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, State Governments and the major urban local bodies representing an urban conglomeration have entered into a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with a set of targets for each year. Local bodies, however, will receive their share of grants based on their evaluation scores. Under the programme, urban local bodies will be the nodal agency to achieve the predetermined targets for the entire urban agglomeration they represent.

The majority of urban local bodies have already prepared their region-specific plans for the next five years and have also established the subcommittees under the District Planning Committees to coordinate the activities. For example, the city of Thiruvananthapuram’s plan includes a faecal waste and sludge treatment plant, a biomedical waste incineration plant and bio fences in the areas that have been turned into waste dumps. Surrounding 35 urban bodies and the Corporation will receive Rs 194 crores in the next five years.