BHOPAL: Congress president Sonia Gandhi said here on Monday that cities were facing immense population pressure as people were migrating in large numbers from rural to urban areas in search of jobs.

Ms. Gandhi was speaking as chief guest after inaugurating the Bhopal Municipal Corporation's Rs. 2,153-crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Project.

The Rural Employment Guarantee Act is now being enforced and 100 days of employment are being ensured to the rural poor in 200 selected districts across the country in the first phase, Ms. Gandhi said. "Once we generate employment in the rural areas, migration from the villages is bound to decrease."

The cooperation of the State Government, municipal corporation, social institutions and the common public was needed for the successful implementation of the Urban Renewal Mission projects to be implemented in Indore, Ujjain, and Jabalpur, besides Bhopal. Ms. Gandhi said the Narmada Jal Yojna, part of the Bhopal Urban Renewal project, would go a long way in solving the drinking water problem here.

She said this was not the occasion to talk politics as people's welfare was not a political issue. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said: "We are united for the cause of development." Since the BJP came to power in the State, there had been significant progress on the roads, irrigation and power fronts.

Mr. Chauhan appreciated the role played by the Centre, particularly Union Minister for State Suresh Pachouri, in promptly clearing the proposals submitted by the State Government for projects under the Urban Renewal Mission.

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