UPA govt's JNNURM to be scrapped

The JNNURM, the UPA government’s flagship programme will be discontinued by the newly formed NDA government and relaunched in an altogether new avatar with a focus on creating 100 smart cities across India.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the UPA government’s flagship urban modernisation programme will be discontinued by the newly formed NDA government and relaunched in an altogether new avatar with a focus on creating 100 smart cities across India.

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“The new phase for improving our cities will be launched soon. We will launch a new mission in place of JNNURM. The new mission will focus on modern concepts for cities on Geographic Information Based planning and will have solid and liquid waste management to develop clean cities,” new urban development (UD) minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday.

Why Modi should continue UPA's flagship programmes?

Naidu also said that the Centre will go the “extra mile” to accommodate opposition. He also informed that Congress MP Kamal Nath would be the Protem Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The ministry is, however, yet to decide the name of the new programme. “We will name it after a national icon,” Naidu said.

Building 100 new cities enabled with the latest technology and infrastructure was also one of the promises that BJP made in its manifesto.

Naidu said that under the new programme, top priority will be given to creating ‘smart’ new cities. “These will offer a smart, safe and better environment, better facilities, better connectivity and better living conditions. We are finalising the concept. This is what PM Modi has also visualised,” he said.

Launched in 2005, the first phase of JNNURM was to end in 2012. However, with over 50% of the projects remaining incomplete, it was extended till March 2014.