JNNURM fund: Depts told to submit DPRs in time

DETAILED PROJECT Report (DPR) has to be submitted by the departments within three months for the release of funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). This was stated by Special Secretary, Urban Development SP Singh.

DETAILED PROJECT Report (DPR) has to be submitted by the departments within three months for the release of funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). This was stated by Special Secretary, Urban Development SP Singh.

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Singh was in the city to attend a workshop organised by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Speaking on the occasion, Singh stressed that no laxity would be tolerated in submission of the DPRs as funds would be released by the Union Government on the basis of first-come-first served basis.

“There must not be a false impression that a fixed amount has been earmarked for each city and this amount will be released when the DPR is submitted,” stated Singh.

“So it is imperative to submit the DPR in time to avail the benefit of early release of fund,” added Singh.

Complete transparency would be maintained to ensure the quality of work done under the JNNURM and the screening of the work would be done from time to time, pointed out Singh.

Special emphasis would also be laid on the quality of work by inspecting the work routinely and the inspections would be carried out by both the Central and the State Monitoring Committees.

“UP is expected to get anything between Rs 8,500 crore and Rs 9,000 crore from the Rs 50,000 crore earmarked by the Government of India for the JNNURM,” said Singh.

Under the JNNURM, seven cities Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Meerut and Mathura have been selected. The duration of the mission would be seven years beginning from 2005-06. During this period, the mission will seek to ensure sustainable development of selected cities.

On the occasion a presentation on JNNURM by Prof UB Singh from Regional Center for Environment Studies, Lucknow was made. He highlighted the main features of the project, which included redevelopment of old areas of the city like widening of roads, shifting of industrial and commercial establishments from non-conforming to conforming areas to reduce congestion.

Emphasis on water supply system and sanitation, sewerage and solid waste management would also be laid in the mission. Preservation of water bodies and development of heritage areas of the city would also be ensured.

To streamline traffic inflow, roads, highways and expressways would also be taken care of under the mission.

Special emphasis would also be laid on the overall development of urban poor. The basic services to the urban poor to be ensured under the mission will cover integrated development of slums, which include housing and development of infrastructure projects in the slums.

Projects involving development, improvement and maintenance of basic services to the urban poor will also be launched. In order to solve the housing problems for urban poor special houses at affordable prices for slum dwellers, urban poor and those belonging to economic weaker section and lower income group of the society would be constructed. Apart from this, environment improvement and solid waste management would also be taken care of under the mission.

Guidelines to be followed by urban local bodies were also discussed on the occasion. These included adoption of double entry accounting system, introduction of e-Governance, property tax reforms, levy of user charges and basic services to the urban poor. Prominent persons present on the occasion included Divisional Commissioner Anita Bhatnagar Jain, DM Deepak Kumar, senior IAS officer RN Trivedi and municipal commissioner Arvind Singh.