Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the 44th edition of PRAGATI, the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Centre and State governments.

This was the first PRAGATI meeting in the third term in office of the Prime Minister. Up to the 44th edition of PRAGATI meetings, 355 projects having a total cost of Rs 18.12 lakh crore have been reviewed.

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Seven significant projects were reviewed at Wednesday’s meeting, including two related to road connectivity, two rail projects, and one each from the Coal, Power and Water Resources sectors.

The cost of these projects totalled more than Rs 76,500 crore and relate to 11 states and UTs, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.

Mr Modi emphasised that every government official, at both the Central or state levels, must be sensitised about the fact that delay in projects not only leads to cost escalation but also deprives the public of the intended benefits of the project.

He said that the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign can help safeguard the environment while undertaking project development.

During the interaction, the Prime Minister also reviewed AMRUT 2.0 and public grievances related to the Jal Jeevan Mission. These projects together inter-alia address water issues in urban and rural areas.

He emphasised that water is a basic human need and quality disposal of grievances at the district level as well as state level must be ensured by the state governments. Adequate operation and maintenance mechanisms of Jal Jeevan projects are critical for its success.

He suggested the involvement of women’s self-help groups and the skilling of youth in operation and maintenance works. The Prime Minister reiterated to conduct Water Resource Survey at the district level and emphasised source sustainability.

The Prime Minister advised Chief Secretaries to personally monitor the works under AMRUT 2.0 and suggested that states should make plans keeping in mind the growth potential and future needs of cities. He said that while making drinking water plans for cities, peri-urban areas should also be kept in mind because with the passage of time these areas also get incorporated into the city limits.

Reforms in urban governance, comprehensive urban planning, urban transport planning, and municipal finance are critical needs of the hour, given the rapid urbanisation in the country, he said.

He added that one needs to take benefit of initiatives such as PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana to meet the growing energy needs of cities. He recalled that many of these aspects of urbanisation and drinking water had been discussed in the Chief Secretaries Conference and the commitments given must be reviewed by Chief Secretaries themselves.

The Prime Minister asked the Chief Secretaries and Secretaries of the Government of India to continue working on the Mission Amrit Sarovar programme. He said that the water catchment area of Amrit Sarovars should be kept clean and desilting of these waterbodies should be taken up as per the requirement with the involvement of village committees.