JNNURM allocation may help growth of infrastructure in city

The union budget has a few pointers for growth,which give a boost to the growing city.

The union budget has a few pointers for growth,which give a boost to the growing city. The announcement of Rs 14,000 crore as the budgetary head for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and various mechanisms to help growth of infrastructure is hoped will benefit the city.

Since its launch in 2005,both Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad have seen a total investment of more than Rs 300 crore under the JNNURM. The official website of JNNURM lists 14 major projects in the area which have been sanctioned for funding under the central government scheme. The pilot scheme of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS),augmentation and upgradation of sewage treatment plants and pumping stations,nala channelising,water supply proposals,construction of pedestrian subways are some of the projects which were undertaken in the city.

However,the status of completion of the projects is far from satisfactory with four projects in Pune and one in Pimpri Chinchwad being completed till December 2012. Also most of the projects have overshot the original estimate by several times.

Finance minister P Chidambaram,during his speech mentioned that a substantial portion of this budget would be spent on purchase of 10,000 buses,mostly for the hilly states. This announcement of the finance minister would surely bring some changes with the PMPML. For a city which requires 3,000 buses,the transport body has 1,500 buses and is running losses. The proposals for fare increase are pending but have been met with strong resistance from activists. At present the work for the BRTS phase 1 from Vishrantwadi to Kharadi is awaiting completion and 300 air conditioned buses are scheduled to run on that route.

Talking about the allocation of funds under JNNURM,senior Congress corporator Aba Bagul stated that money should be spent on the growth of basic infrastructure for the city. The PMC has finished finalising its City Development Plan for Pune. With the inclusion of the 28 villages,Pune is set to outgrow Mumbai as a corporation. Schemes involving traffic,grey water recycling and solid waste management should be priority project, he said.

Shailendra Goswami,chairman automobile committee,Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture said that the emphasis on JNNURM and especially on purchase of buses will result in better public transport for the city.

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