The Pioneer 27.08.2010
Planning commission stalls the proposal for JNNURM
Biswajeet Banerjee | Lucknow
Piqued over delay in implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) the Union Urban Development ministry has stalled expansion of this scheme in parts of Uttar Pradesh.
In a communication to the State Government the Minister of State for Urban Development U D Sugata Roy said that Planning Commission has stalled the proposal to further expand JNNURM projects in Uttar Pradesh.
"The Ministry has not got approval from the Planning Commission for further expansion of the JNNURM projects in other parts of the state," Roy said in her communication to the Urban Development Minister Nakul Dubey.
Uttar Pradesh has proposed to start JNNURM schemes in Gorakhpur in eastern part of the state and Moradabad in western UP. The scheme is already in operation in seven cities of the state including Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut, Mathura and Allahabad.
Though no reason has been cited in the letter officials in Planning Commission said the denial was basically due to delay in implementation of the JNNURM schemes in different parts of the state. "The projects which should have been completed by now are 25-30 per cent complete. This reflects the apathy of the state in implementation of such an important project. The sewerage and the water systems are the worst affected," the official said.
Recently, centre's evaluation agency CRISIL had visited state capital and had reviewed the progress in the JNNURM reforms. It too had voiced displeasure of its implementation and the pace at which it was being implemented.
The officials in the Urban Development department admitted delay in implementation but blamed it as procedural delay. "There is phase-wise delay in implementation of schemes but we would manage it when we come to the end of the project", the official told The Pioneer here on Thursday.
The official said expansion of JNNURM in UP was stalled due to `political' reasons. "Uttar Pradesh is not the only state where expansion has been stalled. It is one of the eight states where Planning Commission of India has refused to give expansion. And all these states are opposition ruled states," the officials.
The states where expansion has been stalled are: Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Currently, the JNNURM has projects in 65 cities across the country. It includes all state capitals and seven cities with 4 million population and 28 cities with 1 million population.
Under the JNNURM Government proposes to streamlines water supply system, sewerage system Storm Water Drainage System, Solid Waste Management system and Urban Transport system.
To streamline the urban and city bus services Uttar Pradesh has procured 1320 buses - some of them air-conditions and low-floored.
