E-Paper
Urban projects remain dormant, Rs 1,500 cr unused
As many as 110 urban projects of 473 sanctioned (approved till September) by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have not yet started.
As many as 110 urban projects of 473 sanctioned (approved till September) by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have not yet started.
Under the JNNURM, the Centre provides part of the funds needed to develop infrastructure in urban areas of the states. The rest is shelled out by the state and local bodies.
The total cost of these projects is around Rs 13,653 crore, of which the Centre will shell out Rs 6,200 crore.
According to JNNURM guidelines, the Centre has to bear 35 per cent of the project cost for cities with more than 4 million people, and half of the project cost for cities with population between 1 and 4 million.
“The Centre releases the first installment - 25 per cent of the total approved cost - when the detailed project report is approved,” a senior official in the Ministry of Urban Development told HT, requesting anonymity.
This means nearly Rs 1,500 crore, a fourth of the approved central funding, could already be with states and lying unutilised. This is 4 lakh times the annual per capita income of India.
Since there were only 12 projects of 473 approved for which the first central installment was not released till August-end, it is clear that almost the entire first central installment lying with the states has remained unutilised.
Uttar Pradesh accounts for 16 such dormant projects, Maharashtra for 13, Karnataka for 12, West Bengal 12, Tamil Nadu 10, and Andhra Pradesh six.
This shows how a flagship project can suffer because of poor implementation by the states and local bodies.
Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy listed other possible bottlenecks in his reply to the Lok Sabha. “There are a variety of reasons for non-utilisation of funds … such as delay in land acquisition, removal of encroachments, shifting of utility, delay in finalisation of tenders and awarding work, shortage of material/stock, skilled labour, etc.”
Though just about 30 per cent of India is urban, it accounts for 62 per cent of the national income.
