Taking note of the urban development ministry’s demands for additional funds for infrastructure development of 63 short-listed cities under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the Planning Commission has now stepped in to evaluate the ministry’s demands.

In a meeting with the Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday, the urban development ministry will put forward its request for further allocation of Rs 30,000 crore, spread over the Eleventh Plan. The ministry’s proposals on urbanisation and infrastructure development would be examined by the full commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh afterwards.

The task force led by the urban development secretary M Ramachandran had submitted a detailed report to the Planning Commission on finding possible alternatives for funding JNNURM projects in September. The report sought central grant of Rs 20,000 crore for funding urban infrastructure projects. In addition, it demanded another Rs 10,000 crore for providing incentives to better performing states and cities. One of its key recommendations was to link the allocation of this amount to quality of implementation of reforms and projects by the respective cities.

Even though the ministry is hoping that it will get access to additional funds under the scheme, the Planning Commission may ask the ministry to go for increased public-private partnerships in urban infrastructure, given the financial constraints the government is currently faced with. The task force, in its report, had stated that huge infrastructure projects such as metro rail, involving significant capital investment, cannot be funded through PPP alone.

... contd.