Maya govt shifts focus to develop urban areas

According to an official,in recent years,never had a government taken up urban development projects on this scale. Mayawati is taking a keen interest in the implementation of all urban infrastructure projects — particularly those aimed at curbing pollution in rivers like Ganga and Gomti caused by the discharge of urban sewage and industrial effluent,he added.

Recently,she had deputed Satish Mishra,MP and Chairman of the State Advisory Council,to personally monitor the implementation of the projects and conduct on-the-spot assessment of their progress.

Mishra had already visited Varanasi,Allahabad and Kanpur. On December 19,he had inspected projects in Mathura and Vrindavan. Soon,he is likely to visit Bithoor in Kanpur. Mishra is also keeping a watch on the beautification of Hazratganj and the construction of a sewage treatment plant at Bharwara village on the outskirts of Gomti Nagar,said an official.

Among the development projects,several are being executed under JNNURM,covering 53 towns. These include Aligarh,Lucknow,Kanpur,Allahabad,Varanasi,Agra and Moradabad —all of which have a population of five lakh or more — and 46 other small and medium towns with a population below five lakh.

An estimated Rs 7,000 crore is to be spent in these towns by the end of March 2012. While the Centre provides 50 per cent and the state government 20 per cent funding,the local body has to bear the remaining cost. So far,the state government has submitted projects worth Rs 5,641 to the Union Ministry of Urban Development,which,in turn has sanctioned projects worth Rs 5,385 crore.

The projects being executed under JNNRUM are crucial for sanitation and public health. These include projects on solid waste management,laying of sewer lines and construction of sewage treatment plants in big cities like Lucknow,Allahabad and Varanasi.

“Never before have urban infrastructure projects been implemented in the state on this scale. No city in Uttar Pradesh has sewer lines which cover more than 20 to 30 per cent area. With the implementation of the projects under JNNURM,the area in the cities to be covered by sewer lines will be as high as 80 per cent. In Lucknow,new sewer lines running over 400 km are being constructed,” said Alok Ranjan,Principal Secretary of Urban Development.

Though JNNURM is a centrally sponsored scheme,the state’s funding comes to 80 per cent if one takes into account the cost of escalation in the project and the fact that most local bodies in UP are in no position to contribute their share,said an official. Obviously,the government believes it is worthwhile to spend money on urban development.

Incidentally,JNNURM was formulated by the Centre in 2004-05 and its implementation began in 2005-06. But it was low in the priorities of the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav regime. It was after BSP came to power in May 2007 that the state government took up such projects in earnest.