The Hindu : National : Prime Minister asks States to expedite urban project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
ePaper

National

National

Prime Minister asks States to expedite urban project

Special Correspondent

“Work closely with two Ministries to monitor its early implementation”

— Photo: V. V. Krishnan

Call for action: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh releases a publication at a National Conference on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in New Delhi on Tuesday. He is flanked by Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy (left) and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday urged all States to work closely with the Union government for effective implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which was aimed at improving the cities.

“We find differential performance in implementation of the project across States. While some did well, others were lagging behind. Cities which lag behind will find it increasingly difficult to catch up,” he cautioned while addressing a National Conference on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission here.

“Time is of the essence and I, therefore, urge the States to work closely with the two Central Ministries to monitor and enforce early implementation of the project,” he said.

Poverty

On urban poverty, Dr. Singh pointed out that a large part of the population in cities lived in slums in unacceptable conditions and housing for poor had not kept pace with the demand.

The Prime Minister noted that 30 per cent of the urban households lived in single room units, which caused social and health problems. “It affects the education of young children. The demand for civic services has shot up exponentially.”

A sum of Rs. 50,000 crore provided by the government was hardly adequate to meet the infrastructural investment of the cities covered under the mission, he said and asked the States to leverage the funds and raise more from the market.

In the case of non-mission cities and towns, he conceded that the financial allocations made for them were not enough.

“Given the level of interest exhibited by small and medium towns, we do now recognise that the financial allocations made for them are not adequate,” he said, adding that he would ask the Planning Commission to look into the feasibility of providing additional assistance to these townships.

In all, 63 cities had developed their “City Development Plans” and they were in the process of preparing detailed project reports to access funds.

“The process of economic growth has unleashed dramatic changes in our cities. They have become major growth engines of our economy, opening up unprecedented opportunities,” Dr. Singh said.

To meet the funding requirements, he said the private sector could be encouraged to invest in urban development through public-private partnerships.

Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said urban development had come to be linked with JNNURM. He expressed satisfaction over the fact that 70 per cent of the funds under the mission was used in schemes pertaining to basic necessities such as drinking water, sewerage and storm-water drains.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National