WELLBEING ALONG WITH HEALTH FORMS ONE OF THE 6 CRUCIAL PILLARS OF AATMA NIRBHAR BHARAT

WATER, SANITATION AND CLEAN AIR INTEGRAL COMPONENTS OF HEALTH & WELLBEING

JAL JEEVAN MISSION (URBAN) ANNOUNCED WITH AN OUTLAY OF ₹ 2,87,000 CRORE

₹ 1,41,678 CRORE ALLOCATED TO URBAN SWACHH BHARAT MISSION 2.0

₹ 2,217 CRORE TO TACKLE THE BURGEONING PROBLEM OF AIR POLLUTION

VOLUNTARY VEHICLE SCRAPPING POLICY ANNOUNCED

Health and Wellbeing have found sharp focus and central positioning in the Union Budget 2021-22 presented in Parliament today by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. They form the basis of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. There is a steep increase of 137 percentage in the Budget outlay for Health and Wellbeing.

Noting that the World Health Organisation has repeatedly stressed the importance of clean water, sanitation, and clean environment, as a pre requisite to achieving universal health, the Budget has made significant allocation to these sectors.

 Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban)

The Union Budget has announced launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban).  It aims at universal water supply in all 4,378 Urban Local Bodies with 2.86 crore household tap connections, as well as liquid waste management in 500 AMRUT cities. It will be implemented over 5 years, with an outlay of  ₹ 2,87,000 crore.

Swachch Bharat, Swasth Bharat

For further swachhta of urban India, the Budget has focused on complete faecal sludge management and waste water treatment, source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic, reduction in air pollution by effectively managing waste from construction-and-demolition activities and bio-remediation of all legacy dump sites. The Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 will be implemented with a total financial allocation of  ₹ 1,41,678 crore over a period of 5 years from 2021-2026.

Clean Air

To tackle the burgeoning problem of air pollution, I propose to provide an amount of ₹ 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres with a million-plus population in this budget.

Scrapping Policy

A voluntary vehicle scrapping policy forms a crucial part of the Union Budget, to phase out old and unfit vehicles. This will help in encouraging fuel-efficient, environment friendly vehicles, thereby reducing vehicular pollution and oil import bill.  Vehicles would undergo fitness tests in automated fitness centres – after 20 years in case of personal vehicles, and after 15 years in case of commercial vehicles. Details of the scheme will be separately shared by the Ministry, the Finance Minister announced.

Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) announced to secure universal urban water supply and liquid waste management over a multi year period. The Budget prioritises health and wellbeing with increased allocations for water, sanitation and air quality. It launches the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) to extend household tap connections and implement liquid waste management across urban local bodies over a multi year period, and funds comprehensive urban sanitation and waste management under Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. The Budget provides targeted funding for air pollution mitigation in large urban centres and announces a Voluntary Vehicle Scrapping Policy featuring automated fitness testing and age based lifecycle thresholds for personal and commercial vehicles to promote cleaner, fuel efficient transport.