State to allocate Rs 843 crore to finish pending projects
The government has now chosen 18 projects in which 50 percent work has been completed.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government will allocate Rs 843 crore for incomplete projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The scheme was discontinued after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) NDA government came to power in the centre in 2014. However, the state government has decided to allocate money to 18 projects — mostly water supply and sewage system — under JNNURM.
In April 2016, the Urban Development Department (UDD) reviewed projects under the JNNURM, which were incomplete. The UDD found out that 140 projects worth Rs 8,000 crore are pending. After the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis set a deadline of three years to complete maximum number of projects, 46 projects worth Rs 3,246 crore were finished in two years. However, 64 projects are still pending. The government has now chosen 18 projects in which 50 percent work has been completed.
“The JNNURM worked in mainly four areas such as local buses, roads, sewage and water supply. We have chosen projects that are nearly finished. The projects are in areas like Pune, Nanded, Nashik, Nagpur, Thane, Malvan, Alibaug, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Savner,” principal secretary of UDD, Manisha Mhaiskar said. The state has also given a loan of Rs 34 crore to urban civic bodies to complete the pending works.
The 18 projects will cost Rs 636 crore. The Central government has not released its share of the Rs 333 crore to the state government for the JNNURM. The state government will be contributing 80 per cent of the funds and the Centre will give rest. The state said that it would also stop some of the projects that might not make any difference after completion.
The Centre had promised to provide Rs 8000 crore for the incomplete JNNURM projects. However, the state has to increase its share of funding this time, unlike the earlier formula in which the Centre's share was more.
The Centre has now come up with a new scheme Amrut to replace the JNNURM. The Amrut focuses on infrastructure in the cities including transportation. Also, the Smart City project is complementary to the Amrut scheme.
Incomplete projects
There are several incomplete JNNURM projects in Pune, Nanded, Nashik, Nagpur, Thane, Malvan, Alibaug, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Savner.
A majority of these include water supply and sewage system.