Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

JNNURM - an initiative with a vision
by Manisha Jain, Freelance Journalist

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), aims to convert cities into engines of economic growth, to encourage urban fast-track integrated development.

JNNURM
The JNNURM was launched with a lot of fanfare by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 3rd December, 2005. A total of 343 projects were sanctioned. It envisages an investment of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore with committed Central Government share of Rs 50,000 crore.

The State Governments and the Urban Local Bodies will contribute Rs 50,000 crore. The Mission is to be implemented in a time-frame of seven years (2005-2011). The objective is to ensure integrated development of urban infrastructure and services, secure effective linkages between asset creation and management and to ensure adequate investment of funds to address deficiencies in the urban infrastructure. It lays particular emphasis on providing basic services to the urban poor.

JNNURM has two components: Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) for the bigger cities and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for small and medium towns and aims to encourage reforms and to fast track planned development of identified cities with a focus on urban infrastructure. The progress of municipal reforms is an important component of the mission which enables a city to claim additional funds under this scheme. As per the 2001 population census, 285.35 million people reside in urban areas. It is about 28 per cent of the total population of the country.

The urban population has grown five times in the post-independence era. It has also given rise to an increase in the number of urban poor. As per the 2001 estimate, the slum population is estimated to be 61.8 million. Slum dwellers cause considerable pressure on the urban basic services and infrastructure. In order to cope with the massive problems that have emerged as a result of rapid urban growth, it has become imperative to draw up a coherent urbanization policy/strategy to implement projects in select cities on a mission mode.

In its third year since inception, the JNNURM is now progressing at an even pace. Under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) which focuses on 63 mission cities , 324 projects have been sanctioned covering 54 cities in 26 states and union territories in the country. The cost of these projects is estimated to be Rs 30,135.23 crore. The JNNURM came in for appreciation from the then Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram, who proposed to increase the allocation of the mission from Rs 5,482 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 6,866 crore for 2008-09. The mission is seen as the main vehicle for improving urban infrastructure and has also succeeded in bringing about reforms in urban governance and urban related laws.

City Development Plan
The mission will also encourage cities to bring out a comprehensive City Development Plan (CDP) as against the traditional land-use plan. A development plan is an essential document to be prepared by cities to avail of central funds under the JNNURM. This plan will map the socio-economic infrastructure of the city, such as availability of basic healthcare and education—whether municipal schools and health clinics are located in the vicinity of informal or formal urban poor settlements.

This will facilitate the identification of areas not covered by health and education initiatives of municipalities. The CDP will also help integrate socio-economic development with infrastructure development by demarcating spaces for industry and services in the city, providing required infrastructure and streamlining licensing process through single window clearances. Despite the success stories surrounding the JNNURM, it is facing a shortage of funds.

Earlier, in its report submitted to the Planning Commission, the task force had cited reasons for additional government allocation and said that raising funds through external assistance programmes like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, was “a limited option.” The report also underlined the need to include the bankruptcy clause in municipal laws so that appropriate mechanisms can be put in place if local bodies are unable to meet their debt service obligations.

Mission Aims
The Mission envisages a change in the Rent Control legislation. This will encourage construction and development of more housing stock, promoting efficient and healthy rental/tenancy market. This will improve the housing situation, making comfortable houses available. The mission also envisages rationalization of stamp duties in states and cities and transparency in transfer of property. The Mission plans to bring about changes in the methods of levy, administration and collection of property taxes with the aim to establish a transparent, non-discretionary and equitable property tax regime. It also aims to provide basic services like water supply and sanitation to the urban poor.

Additional Funds
The Urban Development Ministry has sought additional funds to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore from the Government for the completion of infrastructure projects in 63 mission cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, during the Eleventh Plan. The task force report recently submitted to the Planning Commission has underlined that the Central grant funding of Rs 20,000 crore is necessary for funding urban infrastructure projects. An additional Rs 10,000 crore has been sought for the provision of incentive for better performing states and cities.
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JNNURM and Urban Mobility
by Tasneem F. Khan, Media & Communications Officer, PIB, Delhi

A momentum that rebuilds our cities and reforms the way the Urban Local Bodies are governed, a commitment to the development and expansion of physical infrastructure, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a first of its kind programme was launched on December 3, 2005.

JNNURM Objectives
The objectives of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is to ensure:
 Focused attention to integrated development of infrastructural services in the cities covered under the Mission;
 Secure effective linkages between asset creation and asset management so that the infrastructural services created in the cities are not only maintained efficiency but also become self-sustaining over time;
 Ensure adequate investment of funds to fulfill deficiencies in the urban infrastructural services;
 Planned development of identified cities including peri-urban areas, out growths, urban corridors, so that urbanization takes place in a dispersed manner;
 Scale up delivery of civic amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis on universal access to urban poor and
 To take up urban renewal programme, i.e. re-development of inner (old) cities area to reduce congestion.

Sub-Missions
The Mission comprises two submissions, Sub-Mission I for Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Submission II for Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP). Ministry of Urban Development has the responsibility for UIG, while the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has the responsibility for BSUP.

Progress of Projects
As of now, 343 projects at a total cost of Rs. 32,795.12 crore have been sanctioned under the Urban Infrastructure & Governance sub-mission of JNNURM. The Additional Central Assistance committed by the Government towards meeting the central share of the total projects cost for these 343 projects is Rs. 15,892.85 crore, out of which an amount of Rs. 4,478.85 crore has been released to the Mission Cities.

The sector-wise break up of the 343 sanctioned projects shows that, in the areas of basic services, 103 water supply projects have been approved at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 11,938.95 crore; 66 sewerage projects have been approved at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 8,001.88 crore; 37 drainage (including storm water drainage) projects have been approved at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 3,262.02 crore; and, 30 solid waste management projects have been approved at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 1,581.57 crore. In the area of urban transport, 16 MRTS projects have been approved at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 4,084.59 crore and 68 road projects have been approved at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 2,838.74 crore. Other sectors for which projects have been approved include urban renewal, development of heritage areas, preservation of water bodies and other urban transport.

Out of the 343 sanctioned projects, 22 projects have been physically completed. These include six projects in Hyderabad, five projects in Surat, four projects in Ahmedabad, two projects in Visakhapatnam, and one project each in the cities of Bangalore, Bhopal, Indore, Nagpur and Nanded. The total sanctioned cost of these completed projects is Rs. 1,077.73 crore.

Progress of Reforms
As far as the progress of implementation of state level reforms till the end of year three of the Mission is concerned, 10 out of 11 states have transferred 12th Schedule Functions to the ULBs; 17 out of 22 states have constituted DPCs; 3 out of 8 states have constituted MPCs; 10 out of 14 states have transferred the City Planning Functions to the ULBs; all 12 states which were to have Transferred/Integrated Water Supply and Sanitation Functions have implemented the reform; 7 out of 12 states have undertaken Reform in Rent Control; all 8 states which were to have rationalized Stamp Duty to 5 per cent have achieved the reform; all 28 states which were to have repealed ULCRA have achieved the reform; 5 out of 18 states have enacted the Community Participation Law and 10 out of 16 states enacted the Public Disclosure Law.

Regarding implementation of ULB reforms —11 out of 31 cities have implemented e-Governance Reforms; 23 out of 33 cities have shifted to Double Entry Accrual Based Accounting; 11 out of 12 cities have achieved an 85 per cent Coverage of Property Tax; 9 out of 10 cities have achieved 90 per cent Collection Efficiency in Property Tax; all 6 cities have achieved 100 per cent Cost Recovery in water supply; 3 out of 4 cities have achieved 100 per cent Cost Recovery in Solid waste and 44 out of 47 cities have implemented Internal Earmarking of Funds for Services to Urban Poor.

Initiatives
JNNURM has accelerated growth in the selected 63 Mission cities spread all over the country in mission-mode approach and aims to provide quality urban infrastructure and governance in these cities during the 7 year Mission period. Another components of JNNURM is the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), which is as its name suggests is for towns and cities other than 63 Mission cities. Against the allocation of Rs. 6,400 crores during the Mission period; 691 projects in 558 towns in 23 states and two Union Territories have been sanctioned having a project cost of Rs. 8045.45 crores. A number of parallel initiatives i.e. Credit Rating of Urban local Bodies, Bench marking of Urban services, launch of Urban Sanitation Policy, National Mission Mode project on e-governance, Peer experience and Reflective Learning (PEARL), and Public Private Partnership (PPP) have been launched to sustain Mission activities.

The Ministry of Urban Development had decided that from the year 2008, a mega Conference-cum-Exhibition on Urban Mobility be organized every year coinciding with the anniversary of the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). This year the aim of this Conference-cum-Exhibition is to bring all technology and service providers from India and abroad in all the fields of Urban Transport Planning from Pedestrians, Non-Motorised Transport, Metro, Bus, BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System), LRT (Light Rail Transit), Trams, Inland Water Transport, Ropeways, Parking and the ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) on one platform to exchange and benefit with the experience, development of each other for better transportation planning. This will go a long way not only in dissemination of information but also in capacity building at various levels.