The city’s dreams may finally start to come true. After much lobbying, the Centre has agreed to release funds to transform Mumbai into a world-class city.
MUMBAI: The city’s dreams may finally start to come true. After much lobbying, the Centre has agreed to release funds to transform Mumbai into a world-class city.
On Tuesday, the Centre committed itself to release the first instalment of monetary aid under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission after state government officials played their trump — the monsoon card — and launched an emotional campaign before JNNURM Director M Rajamani. The money is expected to reach Mumbai within a month.
The central budgetary outlay for the JNNURM, which was officially launched in Mumbai on Tuesday for 63 cities across the country, is Rs50,000 crore. Rajamani did not, however, say what Mumbai’s share would be.
The state government has asked for Rs11,000 crore for its grand transformation plans for the city, but with less than two months to go for the current financial year to end, the JNNURM is likely to allocate just a part of this amount.
In a show of perfect teamwork, Municipal Commissioner Johny Joseph, Principal Secretary (urban development) Nanasaheb Patil, Secretary (special projects) Sanjay Ubale, and Additional Municipal Commissioner (projects) Manu Shrivastava spoke repeatedly about the miseries of July 26 and how the city is looking desperately to the Centre for aid.
“We are in urgent need of funds to prevent another situation like 26/7,” Joseph said. “The flood situation highlighted major shortcomings and the need for higher investment in basic infrastructure.”
But the cash will come with a catch.
Rajamani said that while Mumbai will be the first city to get monetary assistance from the Centre, it cannot use the money to build roads and flyovers until basic infrastructure is in place. The elated Mumbai team agreed.
The team had been making the rounds of New Delhi quite regularly with Chief Minister Vilas Deshmukh himself knocking on the Prime Minister’s door. Maharashtra, which was initially reluctant to carry out the mandatory reforms of repealing the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act and the Rent Control Act, even agreed to do so as long as it would get the money immediately.
“Mumbai has a strong case and their anxiety is understandable,” Rajamani said. “The city’s problems are huge and will require huge investments too.”
Maharashtra had sent a parcel weighing half a tonne to the Centre containing the City Development Plan (CDP) and Detailed Project Report (DPR) of five of its cities even before the JNNURM was launched. The Mumbai CDP and DPR, which the Centre received only on Monday, will now be sent to a team of consultants hired by the Government of India for appraisal. “We will work at great speed and release the money within a month,” Rajamani said.
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