A team of Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has cleared another Rs 48 crore project for Ludhiana for water supply and sanitation. However the money can be released once MC is ready with its 30% and state with its 20% share to contribute in the grant. Apart from this, even Rs 240 crore sewer project has also been sanctioned a long ago, but so far the money has not been released because MC has not yet been able to contribute its share of Rs 100 crore because of its poor financial health.

A Rs-48 crores project was sanctioned today in a meeting held at Chandigarh. Commissioner AK Sinha, said, “We are arranging our contribution and soon we will be ready with our part and hence can utilise the funds of JNNURM for sewer and water supply projects. Already, our slum housing project is going o well.”

Apart from the problem of arrangement of money, even JNNURM team a number of times has asked all the corporations to do away with the sops like free water, sewer services to houses upto 125 sq yards. Also, they have been asked to adopt e-governance to rein in corruption in MC and increase accountability of the employees.

In the past many meetings, the MC has been asked to show the progress, but so far except for making a project report and calling tenders, nothing more has happened. Sinha agreed that reforms are a must in order to get grants which can be for the betterment of the city’s development. He said, “Soon, we will be starting double accounting system and e-governance is on our cards. The free sops is a government subject and hence I cannot comment upon it.”

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