The Times of India (Delhi)

Govt Announces £10m Fund For Researchers Working On Project

 

Source-http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/

 

The smart cities project lacks consideration for small towns — class III to VI — that have populations lower than 49,999 and which account for 29 per cent of the total urban population.

SUMMARY

It is important to look at what went wrong with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

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At A time when the contours of the new scheme for 100 smart cities are being decided, it is important to look at what went wrong with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), launched in 2005 to improve infrastructure and governance in cities. With an overall investment of more than Rs 1 lakh crore, it covered both small towns and big cities. Amid all the criticism of the scheme, it is imperative to look at what went right and what didn’t.

One of the major drawbacks of the JNNURM was that it focused too much on big cities, directing fewer funds towards small and medium ones. In principle, it was meant to include all cities/ towns as per the 2001 Census. One of the things it did right was provide funds for class V and VI towns, which have populations of less than 10,000 people. Though their share in resources was dismal, it started a process that could have been taken forward in the future.

Another criticism was that access to JNNURM funds was linked to the achievement of mandatory reforms. Many feel this kind of incentivising did not work because a number of states and cities refused to comply. The Centre had no choice but to release funds after being given assurances on paper. However, many states did comply. As of January 2014, states like Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu had completed 19 out of the 23 reforms. Others like J&K, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal had completed 16. Bigger cities like Delhi did not perform as well and managed to complete only 15 reforms but still received the highest funding under the JNNURM.

The constant dependence of urban local bodies (ULBs) on state or parastatal agencies was another criticism. The JNNURM was supposed to encourage the role of ULBs in project preparation and implementation. However, in practice, the role of the ULB was reduced to that of quiet spectator in some cases and appointing agency in others. The funding pattern did encourage cost-sharing between the Centre, state and ULBs. However, in some cases, smaller towns were unable to contribute their share of the project cost.

Underutilisation of funds was another issue. Since the smaller ULBs are not financially independent, implementing reforms can be difficult, which leads to delays in the release of funds. Also, since a number of smaller ULBs lack capacity, the funds, even when released, were not enough to realise their potential or utilised optimally. This leads to a vicious cycle of poor performance stemming from poor capacity and lack of funds.

While the JNNURM is likely to be discontinued, the new concept of “smart cities” doesn’t hit the nail on the head either. As enunciated in the Union budget speech, the development of satellite towns and modernisation of existing mid-sized cities seems to be the plan. But this lacks consideration for small towns — class III to VI — that have populations lower than 49,999 and which account for 29 per cent of the total urban population. Many of these towns may not be near big cities but may actually possess enormous growth potential. Consider this, between 2001 and 2011, the population living in class I (1,00,000 and above) and class II (50,000-99,999) towns has increased by 27 and 20 per cent respectively. Whereas the population in class III (20,000-49,999) and class IV (10,000-19,999) towns has increased by 40 and 41 per cent respectively. Further, the population in class V (5,000-9,999) and class VI towns (less than 5,000) has doubled. This increase in small-town populations needs to be backed with investment to sustain urbanisation as it will contribute majorly to economic clusters.

The investment allocation for the 100 smart cities project, Rs 7,060 crore, is 6 per cent of the total estimated investment of the JNNURM. As of March 2012, the JNNURM covered 1,274 small towns and 65 big cities. In terms of both investment and coverage, the JNNURM was a much larger scheme. It had a definitive structure that got lost in implementation. What is needed is capacity building at the local level. Until ULBs are empowered to carry out their functions properly, no new scheme can achieve its objectives. When a large number of our cities struggle with even the delivery of basic services, creating technologically advanced cities may not be attacking the root of the problem. What is required is the equitable distribution of funds and resources to small and medium cities instead of identifying a few smart cities.

The writer is a research associate at the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi

[email protected]

Source-http://indianexpress.com/

Mobile interceptors of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) in the district have proved to be money-spinners, these two interceptors in the city have raked in over Rs. 25 lakh in just over a couple of months

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Source-http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/

Protests at the Kamothe toll plaza earlier this month.

SUMMARY

 Even as there has been a major controversy surrounding toll collection on the recently refurbished Sion-Panvel highway, another road infrastructure project pending with the state government for approval proposes to levy toll on the same stretch.

The state government is currently looking at a proposal by the NCP-led Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for the expansion of the Thane creek bridge, which is steadily turning into a major bottleneck, especially after improvements to the 23-km Sion-Panvel highway.

The cash-strapped MSRDC has proposed to expand the Thane creek bridge by further securitising toll collection at the Vashi toll booth or by raising funds through bonds and recovering the finances via an add-on toll at the Vashi booth.

Mumbai Entry Point Ltd is already collecting toll at Vashi near the Thane creek bridge as part of the five entry points of Mumbai where the MSRDC has securitized toll collection for 16 years. Cars currently pay Rs 30 one way as toll, with the amount set to increase to Rs 35 from October this year as per the toll notification. If the MSRDC’s proposal of funding the Thane creek bridge expansion is accepted, the scheduled toll rates could increase or this user fee could continue for a longer period.

S M Ramchandani, joint managing director at the MSRDC, said, “The proposal is currently with the urban development department for its comments. From there, it will go to the planning department, finance and then the state cabinet.”

A senior state government official said the Public Works Department (PWD) had already given its remarks on the proposal saying there should not be any add-on toll, and the project should be funded with a government outlay.

Ramchandani said the issue over toll collection for the improvements to the Sion-Panvel highway would not have a bearing on the Thane creek bridge expansion project as the former entailed setting up of a new toll booth at Kamothe, while the latter would pertain to an existing toll booth.

The NCP-led PWD had undertaken the Sion-Panvel road improvement project on a build, operate, transfer basis with a concession period of 17 years and five months, including the three years of construction. However, following a shrill demand from all major political parties, especially leaders from the ruling Congress and NCP, the government has brought about a stay on this toll and constituted a chief secretary-led committee to study the issue.

 Source-http://indianexpress.com/

A traffic jam in Noida. (Source: Express Archive)

SUMMARY

In fact, records obtained from the office of the senior superintendent of police show that Gautam Buddh Nagar has been allotted only 97 traffic constables to man traffic spread out across 1,440 square kilometres.

Officers said police had written to the state government several times in the past, requesting for more men, but to no avail.

“More than 10 letters have been sent in the last two years. This February, the UP Cabinet finally sanctioned our request for around 500 men. But nothing has changed on the ground so far. I have been here for over three years, and in my tenure, the strength of the traffic police force has hardly ever crossed 100. It was as low as 67 at one time. And I don’t think the situation will see a change unless people are recruited in large numbers,” an officer said.

The traffic movement in Noida and Greater Noida is more than 30 lakh per day, with vehicles passing through nearly 300 busy intersection. Police officers said the busiest intersections in Noida are the ones at Model Town, Kalindi Kunj, Chilla, Sector-37, Rajnigandha factory, Sector-71 and Sector-60.

According to official records for the last three years, an average of 900 accidents have taken place in Gautam Buddh Nagar per year, which have resulted in approximately 400 casualties and left 650 injured.

Alok Sharma, IG (Meerut Zone), however, said that 100 personnel was a sufficient number to man the traffic in Gautam Buddh Nagar. He said recruitment to the traffic police force was underway but it would take another year for fresh recruits to be trained and deployed on the ground.
“Sanctioning of proposals by the Cabinet is meaningless unless new people are brought in. Manpower crunch is a problem in the entire state. But nothing can be done before another year. It will take a year for the recruitment process to conclude and fresh recruits to be trained,” Sharma said.

An officer said the number of CCTV cameras in Gautam Buddh Nagar was also not sufficient.

“We also need more CCTV cameras. There are around 140 cameras installed in 40 locations. It is not a sufficient number,” the officer said, adding that proposals had been sent to Noida Authority to augment the infrastructure required to boost traffic management.

Source:The Hindu