The scheme aims to reward and incentivize the best performing Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Himachal Pradesh (Municipal Council/Nagar Panchyat) on the indicators of sanitation/cleanliness, increase utilization, public infrastructure and official work.
Atal Shresth Shahar Yojna - Introduction
The scheme "Atal Shresth Shahar Yojna (ASSY)" was launched by the Urban Development Department, Government of Himachal Pradesh on 1st April 2018 to select the best Municipal Council and best Nagar Panchayat. The scheme aims to reward and incentivize the best performing Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Himachal Pradesh (Municipal Council/Nagar Panchyat) on the indicators of sanitation/cleanliness, increase utilization, public infrastructure, and official work.
The Government has started this scheme to encourage Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under which the best performing (3) Municipal Councils and three (3) Nagar Panchyats are given cash rewards.
The top performing (1) Municipal Corporation, (3) Municipal Councils and (3) Nagar Panchyats will be felicitated with “Atal Shrestha Shahar Puruskar” on 25th December of every year on the birth anniversary of Late Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (former Prime Minister of India) or any other date as decided by the Government.
Fund Allocation:
| Sl. No. | Component | Total Allocation (in Lacs) | Remarks |
| 1 | Prize Distribution | ₹500.00 | Every year: Requirement for Each Year |
| 2 | A&OE Fund including Prize Distribution function | ₹10.00 | Every year: A&OE will be based on actual expenditure every year |
| 3 | Third Party Agency (TPA) | ₹15.00 | Every year: TPA expenditure will be based on the quoted cost. |
| 4 | Online Platform with Annual maintenance cost (AMC) for 5 years. | ₹15.00 | One time: Online platform cost Every year: AMC as per actuals |
| Total | ₹540.00 |
Benefits
Incentive Pattern:
The incentive pattern for ASSY prize winners i.e. Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat will be as under:
| Prize | Municipal Corporation (₹) | Municipal Council (₹) | Nagar Panchayat (₹) |
| 1st Prize | 1,25,00,000/- | 1,00,00,000/- | 75,00,000/- |
| 2nd Prize | --- | 75,00,000/- | 50,00,000/- |
| 3rd Prize | --- | 50,00,000/- | 25,00,000/- |
Note: In case of a tie for a particular position, the prize money will be distributed equally amongst equal-scoring ULBs.
Spending of Award Money:
- The award money shall be given to the winning ULBs as an un-tied grant.
- The award money shall not form part of the income of the ULBs.
- The award money will not be spent on payment of salaries/wages etc. of the ULBs employee.
- The winning ULB may formulate a scheme to reward its employee(s) for their outstanding contribution in the performance of ULB or for his/her contribution towards a particular category/indicator. The scheme may contain a prize of upto ₹5,000/-. One employee can be considered for a prize under one or more categories/indicators but the maximum prize money for an individual shall not exceed ₹5,000/- irrespective of the number of categories for which he/she is being rewarded.
Eligibility
- The scheme applies to all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the State.
- It is mandatory for all the ULBs of the state to participate in the scheme.
- There will be no bar on any ULB to participate in the scheme even if it has won an ASSY prize in the preceding year(s).
- Any ULB making a false claim will be penalized suitably by deduction of its grant and disciplinary action will be initiated.
Indicator for Assessment: The top-performing ULBs will be selected on the basis of their performance on various indicators as given below.
| Sl. No. | Parameter | Indicators | Max Score | |
| 1 | Swachh Survekshan Parameter | 1. Swachh Survekshan | As fixed by GoI on year to year basis. | |
| 2 | State Parameter | 1. Public Service Delivery | 1500 | |
| 2. Increase in Income | 2000 | |||
| 3. Fund Utilisation | 1500 | |||
| 4. Public Infrastructure | 500 | |||
| 5. Audit Paras settlement and audited account | 1000 | |||
The ULBs will be ranked on the basis of the score obtained in Swachh Survekshan of the preceding year and the score obtained in the other five (5) State Parameters. The format for self-assessment of ULBs on which a claim is to be made by the ULBs is given at ud.hp.gov.in. There will be an online platform on which information will be submitted by the ULBs on or before the fixed date of the submission every year.
Note:
- The first parameter i.e. Swachh Survekshan will be evaluated as per Swachh Servekshan criteria fixed by GoI on a year-to-year basis.
- Marks obtained by ULB in the assessment made by GoI in Swachh Survekshan of the previous year will be taken into account for inclusion every year.
Application Process
Screening Procedure
- Step 01: To apply for ASSY, ULBs will submit the claims on the prescribed application form as per ud.hp.gov.in along with the necessary supporting documents wherever required on or before the 30th of September every year.
- Step 02: On the basis of claims submitted by ULBs a report will be generated by the online platform and the report so generated will be submitted to the authorities for approval of field verification.
- Step 03: The field verification/inspection of top scoring two (2) Municipal Corporations, top six (6) Municipal Councils, and top six (6) Nagar Panchayats will be made by the Third Party Agency.
- Step 04: To rectify any clerical mistake, the Department will give additional time to ULBs for rectification.
Assessment Procedure
- Step 01: Field assessment/verification shall be done to verify the claims of top-scoring ULBs by the “Third Party Agency”.
- Step 02: Third third-party agency (TPA) will be hired by the Department for the actual verification of claims at the field level.
- Step 03: TPA has the right to call for supporting documents/additional documents to verify the claim of any participating ULB.
- Step 04: It will be obligatory on the Third Party Agency that no information on this subject will be shared/disclosed anywhere.
- Step 05: The Director, Urban Development reserves the right to call for any supporting/additional documents from TPA relating to inspected ULBs in case of any doubt.
- Step 06: Based on the scrutiny of claims of ULBs by TPA, Director, Urban Development will recommend the names of the ULB(s) to the state-level Apex Committee for final approval.
- Step 07: The final declaration/announcement of the winning Urban Local Bodies will be made by the State Level Apex Committee constituted for “Atal Shresth Shahar Yojna” to be headed by Additional Chief Secretary/ Pr. Secy./ Secy. (UD) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh.
- Step 08: The decision made by the Apex committee will be deemed final and no appeal is admissible in this regard.
Timeline
The competition shall take place every year and prize will be distributed to winning ULBs on 25th December every year on the birth anniversary of Late Sh. Atal Bihari Vajapyee (former Prime Minister of India).
The activity timeline will be as under:-
| Activity | Timeline |
| Submission of claims by ULBs | 30th of September every year |
| Screening Process | 20th of October every year |
| Field assessment/Verification by TPA | 20th of November every year |
| Prize Distribution | 25th December every year |
Note: * Due to any circumstances, if the function could not be celebrated on above date the same can be held on other date as per decision of the Government.