The Hindu 02.12.2010
Fate of Gunadala RoB hangs in balance
G.V.R. Subba Rao
| Fund crunch behind UDA's failure to take up works |
Centre links release of funds to implementation of reforms by VMC
The project has been proposed at an estimated cost of Rs. 26 crores
VIJAYAWADA: The fate of the Road over Bridge (RoB) at Gunadala being constructed by the Vijayawada Guntur Tenali Mangalagiri – Urban Development Authority (VGTM-UDA) hangs in balance.
Reason being the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) not implementing the reforms suggested by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) programme.
Strange as it may sound, but this is true. The Centre has linked the release of funds under the JNNURM that are due to the Vijayawada Guntur Tenali Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTMUDA) to the implementation of reforms by the VMC. The Central Sanctioning Monitoring Committee (CSMC) of the JNNURM has reportedly told the UDA authorities that subjects pertaining to the UDA would be included in the agenda along with VMC issues, sources say.
The Centre has to release Rs. 25.98 crores to the UDA for its Inner Ring Road (IRR) project. The UDA has already submitted utilisation certificates to the Centre, and urged it to release second and third instalments. The Centre and State governments together released Rs. 12.99 crores towards the first instalment. The UDA, so far, has spent Rs. 25.99 crores on the project. As the JNNURM reforms “do not apply” to the IRR project, which is a basically aimed at creating infrastructure, the UDA expected that the funds would be released immediately.
Talks with Centre
Ever since the UCs have been submitted, the UDA officials have been holding parleys with the Centre. Even then, the CSMC has not included the UDA's subject in the agenda. They received an unvarying reply that the VMC and UDA subjects would be taken up together.
But the subjects of the VMC, which is trying to get fourth instalment funds, have not been included in the agenda because implementation of reforms is mandatory for release of fourth instalment, sources say.
The UDA is proposing RoB at Gunadala across railway line at an estimated cost of Rs. 26 crores.
The Railways has agreed to construct the RoB in its area, and asked the UDA to deposit the requisite amount of Rs. 26 crores in one go. The UDA, faced with fund crunch, could not pool the requisite funds to take up the works immediately, sources say.
The UDA took up the IRR project at an estimated cost of Rs. 72.24 crores.
Of this, The Central government will bear Rs. 37.12 crores, while the State government shoulders Rs. 14.85 crores. The project includes two RoBs -- one each at Ramavarappadu and Gunadala. The project was sanctioned in 2008 and grounded in 2009.
