Schemes Monitoring System, Urban Development Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh

The Urban Development Department (UDD) plays a pivotal role in shaping the urban landscape and infrastructure across the state. With the advancement of civilization, urbanization has seen a significant rise. Due to the increasing pressure on infrastructure and basic civic amenities in urban areas, the need for planned development of cities has been felt over time. Accordingly, the urban areas of the state have been recognized as independent units, termed as Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). As per the 2011 Census, there are a total of 6,166 ULBs in India, out of which the highest number, 707, are in Uttar Pradesh, accounting for about 11% of the total ULBs in the country.

Uttar Pradesh is evidently the state with the highest population and the highest number of ULBs in India. Of these 734 ULBs in the state, there are 17 Municipal Corporations, 200 Municipal Councils, and 517 Nagar Panchayats, where more than 24% of the state's population resides. It is the duty and responsibility of these urban local bodies to provide basic civic amenities to the population residing in their areas, such as clean drinking water supply, roads/streets, drainage, sanitation facilities, waste management, sewage system, street lighting, parks, clean environment, etc.

In addition to administrative control over the functions of urban local bodies, the Department of Urban Development has been established to provide necessary financial assistance through various schemes/programs for the development and expansion of infrastructure facilities in urban areas. Besides these activities, the Department of Urban Development is also involved in activities such as sanitation, environmental conservation, and pollution control in rivers/lakes in urban areas.