The BJP government’s decision to scrap the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and launch it afresh is unlikely to affect ongoing projects in Tamil Nadu much.
This is because the State has already drawn most of the funds sanctioned for projects for water supply, sewerage, stormwater drains and bridges. Under the Mission, as JNNURM stands now, there are three broad components for infrastructure development. One is meant for cities such as Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, and another is for small and medium towns.
The third is meant for housing and slum development. The first, officially called urban infrastructure and governance (UIG), is the biggest component in terms of project cost.
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The Central government has cleared projects in two phases, including ‘projects in transition phase’ which pertains to those proposed to be taken up under the now-redundant JNNURM-II.
In the first phase, out of the Central share of Rs. 2,084.03 crore, the State has received Rs. 1,822.65 crore for 48 projects. Even in the case of projects in the transition phase, Rs. 93 crore has been released against the Central share of Rs. 390 crore, according to >JNNURM’s official website .
A few days ago, the new Union urban development minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said a new Mission would be launched to replace JNNURM, the UPA government’s flagship urban modernisation programme.
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There was also an indication it was for the States to bear the financial burden from projects sanctioned before March 2012 with the March 2014 deadline. State government officials said this stipulation is nothing new as the Centre has conveyed it on many occasions. The State sees no major issue in managing resources for incomplete projects, if any.
Asked about the status of 25 unfinished projects, the sources said these projects are expected to be completed by year-end. Contractual issues and litigation over land acquisition in some cases are cited as reasons for the delay.
Besides, under the component for small and medium towns, the State has completed 102 projects of the 136 projects approved for 122 towns, the website said.
Against the approved cost of Rs. 1,782 crore, the Central share is Rs. 1,426 crore. As for the housing and slum development component, 31,756 dwelling units have been constructed against the sanctioned 37,715, in 93 cities and towns.
The State has been given Rs. 398.7 crore against the committed Central share of Rs. 400 crore. The overall approved cost is Rs. 566 crore.
There is one more sub-component in this area, which caters to Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore, exclusively. As against the Central share of Rs. 1,045 crore, Rs. 1,004 crore has been released. The overall approved cost for 53 projects comes to Rs. 2,334 crore.