According to a statement released by the ministry on Wednesday night, the States that received the funding include Andhra Pradesh (Rs 136 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs 109 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 799 crore), and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 720 crore).
The grant, according to the statement, is intended for hubs in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, Chhattisgarh’s Durg Bhilainagar and Raipur, Maharashtra’s Aurangabad, Greater Mumbai, Nagpur Nashik, Pune, and Vasai-Virar City, and Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, and Varan
Urban local authorities have already received grants of Rs 4,761.8 crore for the fiscal years 2022–23.
In its report for the years 2021–2022–2025–2026, the 15th Finance Commission divided Urban Local Bodies into two groups: (a) Urban Agglomerations/Cities with a Population of One Million or More (Excluding Delhi and Srinagar), and (b) All Other Cities and Towns with a Population of Less Than One Million (Non-Million Plus cities).
For these, the Commission had suggested receiving separate grants. More than two-thirds of the awards proposed by the Commission for Million Plus Cities/Urban Agglomerations are awarded for the solid waste management component, while the remaining one-third is for ambient air quality.
The 15th F.C. recommended Solid Waste Management grant component of the Million Plus Cities Challenge Fund for Million-Plus cities/UAs is intended to be used for improving drinking water quality & supply (including rainwater harvesting and recycling), sanitation, and achieving star ratings in Solid Waste Management by the urban local bodies in accordance with the approved City Action Plan (CAP) and commitments made in the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)s.
