Pranab, Jaipal differ on JNNURM funding
Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy on Friday had pointed exchange of views on the issue of providing funding for the UD ministry’s flagship programme Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which completed five of its seven-year mandate.
While both the ministers agreed over reforms, as mandatory under the mission, have to be implemented at a faster pace, the two senior ministers differed sharply on the issue of funding.
Addressing the national conference on JNNURM, which completed five years since its launch, Mr Mukherjee said that missions are launched to achieve targets within a given time period.
“You cannot have mission after mission after mission for the same objective,” said the minister, adding that the achievements made in the mission period should get integrated into the mainstream.
Underlining the genuine budgetary constraints the government faces, Mr Mukherjee said that the “government is not an ephemeral cosmic entity” replete with funds and the stakeholders will have to undergo a mindset change. “People will have to be ready to pay and the state and urban local bodies will have to create an enabling environment for the public-private partnerships to enter this sector,” said Mr Mukherjee.
He added that already enormous funds have been committed and spent on JNNURM and there was a need to ensure that the infrastructure created was maintained and sustained.
The finance minister further added that the rising expectations in the wake of rapid urbanisation was unavoidable and affordable and optimal ways will have to be adopted for using the funds available.
Earlier, addressing the conference, Mr Reddy lamented that the funds spent by the ministry on acquiring buses for public transport, which was part of the stimulus package given to a flagging auto industry due to recession, under JnNURM were not being re-imbursed as promised earlier. “I don’t think it is fair,” said the minister.
The minister, however, announced that the Cabinet has agreed to release funds for the ongoing projects but with the condition that “at the end of the day” the reforms related to JnNURM will be implemented. Mr Reddy also requested the finance minister to look into the huge demand being raised from the states and the cities, while asking the states to speed up the reforms.
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