Urban development plan spend to be sharply hiked

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New Delhi , Nov 11 : The Centre is considering an increase in allocation of funds for the UPA flagship Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) by 44% for the 11th Plan period.

The Planning Commission aims to allocate the additional funds of Rs 22,000 crore to boost infrastructure spend in the small and medium towns as well as provide affordable housing for the urban poor. The commission had originally allocated Rs 50,000 crore for JNNURM projects during the 11th Plan period of 2007-12.

“The allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for JNNURM is insufficient for the 11th Plan period. This is the reason why the Planning Commission is considering pumping in more funds, which will roll over in the 12th and 13th Plan period subsequently,” said Harish Chandra, (advisor), Planning Commission, on the sidelines of Urban Infrastructure Development Conclave focusing on public private partnership (PPP), organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“Investments worth Rs 13,850 crore will be done to boost infrastructure in urban as well as small and medium towns. Also, allocation of Rs 9,000 crore will be done towards housing needs for poorer sections,” he added. These allocations will augment resources in the hands of the ministry of urban development for more cities and towns across the country.

Highlighting India’s current infrastructure deficit, urban development secretary M Ramachandran said, “From the initial estimates of an investment requirement of around $320 billion (at 2005-06 prices) it went up to $475 billion (for the period 2007-2012) as assessed by the Deepak Parekh Committee. This acute deficit, in the urban infrastructure sector, as per our estimates for the 5,161 urban centres in the country suggests an investment requirement of over $200 billion at current prices. It is now widely accepted that the government alone will be unable to meet the infrastructure requirements.”

Backing the PPP mode of undertaking infrastructure projects, Ramachandran said, “PPP is widely accepted as a model which can augment government’s infrastructure delivery capacity, share risks, roles and responsibilities between different stakeholders such as private contractors, the government and community.”