New Delhi Feb 18 PTI The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved proposals worth Rs 235 crore to Andhra Pradesh under the Garbage Free Cities vision the largest one-time approval of funds for legacy dumpsite remediation a statement said on FridayThe Centres share in these proposals will be Rs 7766 crore a ministry official said adding that rest of the amount will be borne by the stateThe housing and urban affairs HUA ministry said legacy dumpsites pose a major threat to the environment and contributes to air pollution and water pollutionIt also said that clearing these mountains of years-old waste is critical to not just transforming the urban landscape of the country but also addressing the issue of public health and environmental concernsSwachh Bharat Mission-Urban 20 was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1 last year with the vision of creating Garbage Free Cities by 2026According to the ministry one of the major objectives under the Mission is Lakshya Zero dumpsite to remediate 16 crore metric tonnes MT of legacy waste dumpsites occupying nearly 15000 acres of city landThe Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved the proposal worth Rs 7766 crore submitted by Andhra Pradesh for remediation of over 42 lakh MT of waste in 28 ULBs urban local bodies the statement statedCurrently 118 lakh MT of unremediated legacy waste is present across the state locking up over 463 acres of valuable land it statedThe ministrys approval makes this the largest one-time approval of funds for legacy dumpsite remediation to Andhra PradeshThe Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs MoHUA had also celebrated Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from January 17-31 on the theme of Smart Cities Smart UrbanisationPrioritising the issue of dumpsite remediation more than 260 cities across five states and Union territories have submitted their action plan for legacy waste remediation to the ministry signifying their commitment to the vision of garbage free cities the statement addedPTI BUN SRY