Indian Express 12.10.2010
HP minister wants Shimla JNNURM funds for Mandi
Ashwani Sharma Tags : Mohinder Singh, BJP, JNNURM Posted: Tue Oct 12 2010, 01:20 hrs
Shimla: If Mohinder Singh, Minister of Urban Development and Housing in the BJP government in Himachal has his way, Central funds allocated for betterment of infrastructure in the hill capital of Shimla would be diverted to building infrastructure in his own constituency.The minister wants to allocate Rs 13 crore out of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) granted for Shimla to Sarkaghat and Sundernagar towns of his home district, Mandi. While Sarkaghat is part of his own Assembly constituency, from where he got elected for record five times, Sundernagar is represented by BJP MLA and former minister Roop Singh Thakur.
As per norms of the JNNURM, the funds are meant for betterment of infrastructure in Indian cities and cannot be diverted. Shimla is one of the 63 cities included in the scheme. However, the minister says he has already broached the topic with Union Minister for Tourism and Urban Development Kumari Selja. “I met her recently and submitted my proposal. Several other officials whom she consulted in my presence, too, were in favour of my proposal,” said Singh.
His demand is all the more surprising because infrastructure in Shimla is far from ideal and successive state governments have often pleaded that lack of sufficient funds prevents them from making the much needed improvements. Also, the Municipal Corporation (MC) of Shimla, the nodal agency for implementation of the project, has already created a list of sanctioned projects and the money allocated to Shimla under the scheme has been specifically allocated under each head.
Expressing his ignorance over the move to withdraw the “unutilised” grant of Rs 13 crore, MC Commissioner A N Sharma said: “Only a few days ago, I received a letter from the principal secretary (urban development) seeking the proposals for creation of basic services for the poor in Krishna Nagar area. We are very much eager to see that funds are fully utilised in a time-bound manner under the JNNURM.”
The minister has yet another argument in support of his demand. He claims if the proposal to spend the unutilised funds in two towns is not cleared, the Centre will withdraw the entire amount. There is a move to merge all unutilised JNNURM grants into the newly introduced Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana — a Central government programme to build houses for the urban poor and slum dwellers. “The state will end up getting nothing,” he said.
“The diversion of funds from Shimla is not possible. I don’t see any justification in the move, if the report about the diversion is true,” said BJP MLA Suresh Bhardwaj.
