Central Public Health & Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO)

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat was approved by the Prime Minister’s Council for Climate Change in June 2010. The Prime Minister released India’s first National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlining existing and future policies and programs addressing climate mitigation. There are eight National Missions under the National Action Plan, with the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat being one of them.

The focus of these Missions is to promote understanding of climate change, its adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.

Objectives of the Mission

The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat seeks to promote:

• Improvements in energy efficiency in buildings through extension of the energy conservation building code - which addresses the design of new and large commercial buildings to optimize their energy demand;
   
• Better urban planning and modal shift to public transport - make long term transport plans to facilitate the growth of medium and small cities in such a way that ensures efficient and convenient public transport;
   
• Improved management of solid and liquid waste, e.g. recycling of material and urban waste management – with special focus on development of technology for producing power from waste;
   
• Improved ability of habitats to adapt to climate change by improving resilience of infrastructure, community based disaster management, and measures for improving advance warning systems for extreme weather events; and
   
• Conservation through appropriate changes in legal and regulatory framework.

Mission Targets-

The key deliverables of the Mission includes:

• Development of sustainable habitat standards that lead to robust development strategies while simultaneously addressing climate change related concerns;
   
• Preparation of city development plans that comprehensively address adaptation and mitigation concerns;
   
• Preparation of comprehensive mobility plans that enable cities to undertake long-term, energy efficient and cost effective transport planning; and
   
• Capacity building for undertaking activities relevant to the Mission.

Yearwise allocation of Funds-

No specific funds have been allocated or are sought for the Mission on Sustainable Habitat, which is being implemented through the 4 flagship missions/ programmes of the Ministry of Urban Development, which are-.

a)  Atal Mission on Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

b)  Swachh Bharat Mission

c)  Smart Cities Mission

d)  Urban Transport Programme

The end aim is to adapt and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve sustainability. A report prepared by TERI for the Ministry of Urban Development for the COP21 summit at Paris, estimated that successful implementation of the above flagship missions has a potential for mitigation of GHG emission amounting to 133 Million Tonnes CO₂eq  by 2021 and 270 MnTonnes by year 2031.