States trip on urban mission

States have failed to capitalise on the Centre’s massive urban modernisation programme for want of planning, project prioritisation and funds.

States have failed to capitalise on the Centre’s massive urban modernisation programme for want of planning, project prioritisation and funds.

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Many states have claimed just a part of the funds allocated to them under the Rs 66,000-crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), one of the UPA’s flagship programme. The failure in claiming funds has led to poor implementation, a mid-term review of the programme by the Planning Commission has found.

The mission was launched in December 2005 to improve infrastructure in 63 cities across the country. Under JNNURM, the Centre provides upto 50 per cent of funds to states to undertake infrastructure projects, if they agree to a set of mandatory reforms such as double entry accounting system, e- governance and rationalising stamp duty among others.

While Goa hasn’t claimed a penny, Delhi has taken only six per cent of its share, Chandigarh 17 per cent, Mizoram 10 per cent, Sikkim 20 per cent and Manipur 30 per cent.

Many states and urban local bodies don’t have adequate capacity and monetary resources to “develop plans, identify project priorities, raise matching funds and execute projects”, which is coming in the way of claiming funds.

Many states have failed to implement urban reforms, mandatory to claim money, the review says.

Of the 63 mission cities in 31 states and union territories, only 10 states have transferred the 12 schedule functions from the state to the local bodies. Just 13 cities have completed e-governance set up, while 29 have shifted to double entry accounting system. Many of the reforms, including property tax collection, are still pending.