TEAM TOI
With revamp of urban i n f r a s t r u c t u re among the top priorities of the UPA-2 government, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has enhanced the budget of its flagship programme — Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission — to pump in a whopping Rs 12,887 crore for urban renewal and Rs 3,973 crore for its grand vision of “making India slumfree in five years”.
The final allocation for 2009-10 is around Rs 1,000 crore more than the Rs 11,842 crore set aside for urban renewal in the interim Budget. This is quite a jump from Rs 6,247 crore allocated in the 2008-09 Budget, which had gone up to Rs 10,447.98 crore in revised estimates. With more and more people moving into city slums, urban renewal has become a necessity of sorts. In the government’s view, substantial investment in this sector is key to maintaining India’s high growth and protecting the economy from global recession.
A special allocation of Rs 3,973 crore has been made to meet the spiralling housing need of the vulnerable sections. There’s currently a shortage of 2.6 crore housing units, 98% for which is meant for the economically weaker and low-income groups. The government has already sanctioned around 463 projects worth Rs 49,744 crore under the seven-year mission which started in 2005.
While rebuilding urban infrastructure, the Centre is also pushing its reform agenda, including repeal of the urban land ceiling act, reform of rent control laws, a push for reasonable user charges and rationalization of stamp duty — all aimed at reviving municipal governance. The huge money made available under the scheme has forced unwilling states to toe this agenda.
The government clearly sees urban renewal as an important social and economic intervention for improving the quality of life of slumdwellers and the poor. Under the Rajiv Awas Yojana announced by the president, the Centre wants to ensure housing and basic services to slumdwellers. In the interim Budget, there was a special allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for this purpose.
JNNURM’s initial focus was on 63 mission cities with million plus populations, state capitals and cities with historical importance. But the mission was extended to Tier II & III cities for developing infrastructure in small and medium towns.
