Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar addresses a press conference, in New Delhi on September 30, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

Centre to digitise more municipal services

Modules on online booking of community centres, registration of properties to be included in National Urban Digital Mission

by · The Hindu

The National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM), which aims to digitise municipal services across the country, would have new modules such as online booking of community centres and registration of properties, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said in New Delhi on Monday (September 30, 2024).

The NUDM was launched in 2021 to create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India. The Union Budget for 2024-25 allocated ₹1,450 crore for the programme. However, it is yet to get the Cabinet nod.

When launched, the NUDM aimed to institutionalise a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in 2,022 cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns in India by 2024.

Housing scheme

Mr. Khattar, who was addressing a press conference on the 100 days of the NDA government, said that as part of the new protocol for the flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) 2.0, it had become mandatory for the States to contribute from now on.

The PMAY 2.0, which was approved by the Union Cabinet last month, aims to construct one crore houses for the urban poor and middle-class families over the next five years, with an investment of ₹10 lakh crore and a government subsidy of ₹2.30 lakh crore.

The scheme is designed to extend financial assistance to the urban poor and middle-class families for constructing, purchasing, or renting houses at affordable costs in urban areas. Through this initiative, the government wants to ensure that every citizen has access to a pucca house.

Senior officials present said the government had moved ahead with recruiting urban planners from designated Centres for Excellence for urban planning. Around 1,000 urban planners were recruited from the designated centres – IIT Kharagpur, the School of Planning and Architecture, NIT Calicut, and CEPT Ahmedabad, they said adding that the scheme would work in the “hub and spoke” model.

Published - September 30, 2024 09:19 pm IST