Prime minister Narendra Modi today (Thursday) unveiled people-centric urban development and launched three major urban development initiatives: Amrut (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation); Smart Cities Mission and Housing for All (Urban), at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The government is planning spend Rs4 lakh crore in next six years on these projects.

He said all schemes for urban development should move forward based on people's participation. Modi said that for the first time in the country, the people, and the urban leadership would play the pivotal role in deciding the future course of their cities.

Taking his theme of India further the prime minister said urban and rural development in our country should be complimentary. One way of doing this was to ensure waste water management in urban areas, so that the treated water could be returned to rural areas for irrigation. Similarly solid waste management could generate compost which could act as organic fertiliser for the surrounding rural areas.

The Prime Minister said that urbanization should be viewed as an opportunity, and urban centres should be viewed as growth engines. He said schemes which had a clear vision and were people-centric, were the need of the hour.

The prime minister gave a simple vision of a smart city, as one which was a step or two ahead of people's aspirations. Technology, transportation, energy efficiency, walk-to-work, cycling etc were some elements mentioned by the PM.

He said the people assembled in Vigyan Bhawan today, had on them the collective responsibility for better quality of life for 40 percent of India's population that either lived in cities, or were dependent on cities for their livelihood.

Recalling the Emergency, which was imposed 40 years ago on this day, the prime minister said the dreams and aspirations that inspired people to struggle against the emergency, should be a beacon for this gathering.

Modi said today there is a lack of holistic vision about urban planning, and expansion is driven not by the administrators of a city, but by property developers. Through AMRUT, the aim of the Government is to give cities themselves the chance to plan their future growth.

He also appreciated people for their interest in the Swachh Bharat initiative, as well as the positive role played by media in generating awareness.