100 Days Agenda for Action of Ministry of Urban Development Unveiled

Amar varma

New Delhi.S. Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Urban Development said that the response to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has been spontaneous and overwhelming, as a consequence projects costing Rs.95,385 crores have already been sanctioned which are under various stages of implementation.   This was stated by the Minister while addressing a press conference on the Agenda for Action for 100 days of the Ministry of Urban Development, here today.  Minister of State, UD Shri Saugata Ray, Secretary, Urban development Dr. M. Ramachandran and other senior officers of the Ministry were also present.   

            Following is the text of Agenda for Action for 100 days:

            The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has the responsibility of broad policy formulation and monitoring of programmes/schemes in the areas of urban development, urban water supply, sanitation and urban transport. Although these are primarily State subjects, the Government of India plays a coordinating and monitoring role and also supports these programmes through centrally sponsored schemes.

            However the UPA government—taking into account fast urban growth in India—took the historic step of launching the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) on 3^rd December 2005 with a view to give fillip to urban infrastructure development in 65 major cities by mobilizing Rs. 50, 000 crores from the central budget and by getting a matching Rs. 50, 000 crores from the State governments and the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The response to JNNURM has been spontaneous and overwhelming. As a consequence, projects costing Rs 95, 385 crores have already been sanctioned and which are under various stages of implementation.

1. Provision of additional funding under JNNURM

The Government of India, State governments and ULBs have committed to raise Rs. 1,00,000 crores of investments in the urban sector through JNNURM. However, it is recognized that further amount of Rs. 50, 000 crores would need to be raised urgently. Efforts will be made to raise the amount from Rs. 1, 00, 000 crores to Rs. 1, 50, 000 crores. To reach this goal, Government of India has t contribute Rs. 25, 000 crores.  

1. Inclusion of more cities under JNNURM

When JNNURM was launched on 6h December 2005, the stress was laid on cities with population of only 10 lakhs and above (2001 Census). Now a concerted effort will be made to include such cities having population of 5 lakhs and above. This will mean adding 28 more cities to the current list of 65 Mission cities.

1. Emphasis on small and medium towns

Along with the scheme of Mission cities, another scheme for small and medium towns was launched in 2005 known as Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme in Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). Rs. 11, 400 crores was allocated under this scheme. The demand from such cities is growing at a very high rate. Therefore, we will try to secure to secure further additional allocation under the UIDSSMT so as to meet the needs of small and medium towns.  

1. National Mission Mode Project (NMMP) on e-Governance in Municipalities under JNNURM

The National Mission Mode Project (NMMP) on e-Governance in Municipalities is an important initiative of the Government of India for improving operational efficiencies and promoting transparency and accountability in delivery of eight services namely:

• Registration and issue of birth certificate
• Payment of property tax & utility bills
• Citizen grievances
• Building plan approvals
• Procurements and monitoring of projects
• Health programmes including licenses and solid waste management
• Accounting system and
• Personal Information System

NMMP on e-Governance is presently being implemented in 35 cities with a population of above 10 lakhs as per 2001 census under JNNURM. Now it is proposed to increase the coverage from 65 Mission cities by including 28 more cities having population of 5 lakhs and above. Ultimately the aim is to cover all 423 towns with population of over 1 lakh as per 2001 census.

1. Scheme for Infrastructure Development in Satellite Towns and Counter magnets

In order to lessen pressure on large cities, the Ministry will launch the scheme for satellite towns/counter magnets around mega cities to address basic infrastructure deficit such as drinking water, sewerage, drainage and solid waste management. An amount of Rs. 500 crores will be invested in this scheme.

1. Metro Projects

• The Metro projects in Bangalore (42.3 kms costing Rs. 8,158 crores) and Kolkata (14.6 kms at Rs. 4,874 crores) will be provided all assistance.
• The work on Chennai metro (45 kms at a cost of Rs. 14, 600 crores) and Mumbai Metro Line 2 from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra (32 kms at a cost of Rs. 7,660 crores) will be formally launched.
• Kochi metro project will be taken up for sanction.
• The National Capital (NCR) Region of Delhi will get connected to Delhi Metro with NOIDA link getting commissioned in August 2009.
• The Metro in Gurgaon will become functional in January 2010 and it shall get connected to Delhi by June 2010.

1. Buses for City transport  

Buses are the major means of public transport for all the cities. For the first time in the history of independent India, substantial assistance has been made available for purchase of 15,220 modern buses for city transport for 61 mission cities. These buses will be delivered by December 2009. As we consider public transport in cities a critical issue, we will try to organize assistance in procurement of such buses in 118 cities having a population of two lakhs and above.  

1. Metro experience on the city buses

To provide Metro experience on bus services to commuters, modern buses with low floor or semi low floor and wide doors, vehicle tracking system, on-line passenger information system, LED sign boards, electronic ticketing, smart cards etc. are envisaged. About 20% buses will provide air-conditioned comfort as well.  A unique public transport help line number will be established for all cities across India.

1. Initiatives to dispense with tax burden on public buses

Our Ministry pleaded with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for completely doing away with the excise duty on public buses. Consequently, in the budget of 2008-2009, the excise duty was reduced from 16 to 12 percent, and it was further reduced from 12 to 8 per cent in January 2009. We are making further efforts with the MoF for reducing the excise duty from eight to nil per cent. Efforts will be made to prevail upon the State/ ULBs to waive off State/ULB taxes on public buses in cities.

1. Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement (RCTA)

RCTA between Delhi, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan will become operational for both Stage carriage and Contract carriage. It will facilitate free movement of Buses, Taxis and Auto rickshaws across state borders without stopping.

1. Centres of Excellence

The work for opening of 13 Centres of Excellence located in the India Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and other institutions of national importance to focus on urban transport and urban affairs will commence and financial assistance for same will be provided by the Ministry.  These Centres would take up research and training in various aspects of urban development and urban transport and also provide technical support to the Ministry. In the area of Urban Transport, the Centres of Excellence will also conduct M. Tech. and PHD programmes for students and in-service professionals. MOUs will be signed with these Institutions.

1. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

The National Mission for Sustainable Habitat will address issues related to sustainable development with co-benefits for climate change. We will promote sustainability of habitats through appropriate changes in legal and regulatory frameworks, improvements in energy efficiency in buildings, integrated urban planning, improved management of solid and liquid waste including recycling, power generation from waste, modal shift towards public transport and conservation of resources.  We will also seek to build capacities for adaptation to climate change, community-based disaster management systems, comprehensive mobility, spatial and environment planning, and advance warning systems for extreme weather events.  As a first step, our Ministry’s endeavour will be to develop sustainable habitat parameters within next three months.

1. Implementation of the National Urban Sanitation Policy

The Ministry proposes to launch a nation-wide media campaign for awareness-generation towards sanitation.  It is proposed to support 50 cities for drawing up the City Sanitation Plans.  It is also proposed to take up rating of cleanest cities on sanitation-related parameters.

1. North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme  (NERUDP)

The address the urban infrastructure deficit in the, the Asian Development Bank-assisted North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme will be launched for implementation at project cost of about Rs 1,371 crores. Five cities of Agartala, Aizawl, Gangtok, Kohima and Shillong will be taken up in the first phase. States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur will be taken up in 2010.

1. Matter relating to the Delhi Master Plan 2021

The Delhi Master Plan 2021 envisages involvement of private sector in the development of land and provision of infrastructure services as an improvement over the current scheme of large-scale development and acquisition of land entrusted to the Delhi Development Agency (DDA).  Focused efforts will be made to finalize the policy. Every effort will be made to finalize the Zonal Development Plans of Delhi.

1. Real Estate Regulator for Delhi

Real Estate Management (Regulation & Control) Bill for NCT of Delhi will be taken up for decision.

1. Building up 65, 000 houses by the DDA in next four years

In order to meet acute shortage of houses for urban poor, economically weaker sections and lower income groups of city of Delhi, construction of about 40, 000 houses will be taken up. Tender documents for construction of such houses have already been made ready with fast mode of construction adopting pre-fabricated technology. Here, about 10, 000 houses are phased to be completed every year from the year 2010 onwards.

In addition to above, about 10,000 houses for middle-income group will be taken up on the same technology of pre-fabricated construction in four years’ time in phases.

Apart from the above, about 15, 000 houses will be completed (ongoing projects) in various phases. These houses will be constructed on conventional technology and these will be available from the year 2009 to 2011 (details enclosed at Annexure 1).

1. In-situ development of houses for Jhuggi-jhompri (JJ) clusters and slum-dwellers

The DDA will take up in-situ development towards rehabilitation of slum-dwellers and JJ clusters in next five years for 23 clusters (details enclosed at Annexure 2). The total numbers of dwelling units of about 25 square meters will be about 47, 500. These will be taken up on public-private partnership model in which the land to in question that is presently occupied by the JJ/slum-dwellers will be made available to developers, which will construct EWS houses in accordance with the numbers identified by the DDA. These houses will be constructed on part of the area while in the remaining area, the developer will be allowed to carry out commercial exploitation of the land. The bidding parameter is envisaged to be the amount to be paid to the DDA in addition to the number of houses identified by the DDA in each cluster/land.

1. Bio-diversity parks by the DDA

DDA has launched a unique conservation initiative by establishing a network of bio-diversity parks in Delhi that are developed and maintained by the DDA with scientific inputs from the ‘Centre for Environmental Management for Degraded Eco-systems’ (CEMDE), Delhi University. This is a task taken up for the conservation and preservation of the environment.

These bio-diversity parks are uniquely landscaped and designed in-house by the landscape department of the DDA. A first of its kind in India and perhaps in the world are natural resources that harbor hundreds of varieties of species living together in the form of diverse communities providing ecological balance and educational benefits to the urban society.

Two bio-diversity parks are under active development to protect and conserve the two natural elements in Delhi, i.e., (i) Yamuna Bio-diversity Park at Wazirabad to revive the lost ecological systems of Yamuan River, and (ii) Aravalli Bio-diversity Park at Vasant Vihar in the extension of the ridge area to revive its lost eco-systems.

DDA will fully develop a chain of such bio-diversity parks in Delhi as mentioned hereunder:

• Northern Ridge
• Tilpath valley
• Neela Hauz
• River Front Development (Yamuna River front)

1. Sports Complexes in Delhi

In addition to the development activities and construction of housing complexes, DDA is also engaged in development of Sports Complexes, multi-gyms for the citizens of Delhi. DDA has already developed 14 such Sports Complexes and 39 multi-gyms.

In the near future, DDA will develop four new Sports Complexes, namely:

• A Racquet Sports Complex at Sector 17, Dwarka
• Sports Complexes at Sector 8, 19 and 23, Dwarka
• Sports complex to be developed at Sector 24, Rohini
• Sports Complex at Narela

1.  50% Reservation for women in Urban Local Bodies

Steps are being initiated towards moving a draft bill and for Consultation with States as a follow up of the Hon’ble President’s address to Parliament towards 50 per cent reservation for women in ULBs.

1. Facilitating of City Volunteer Technical Corps

Facilitating the formation of setting up of professionals as City Volunteer Technical Corps in all the 65 Mission cities through the State governments will be undertaken.

1.  Service Level Benchmarks

Benchmarks for e-Governance in Urban Local Bodies and Urban Transportation will be set

S. Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Urban Development said that the response to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has been spontaneous and overwhelming, as a consequence projects costing Rs.95,385 crores have already been sanctioned which are under various stages of implementation.   This was stated by the Minister while addressing a press conference on the Agenda for Action for 100 days of the Ministry of Urban Development, here today.  Minister of State, UD Shri Saugata Ray, Secretary, Urban development Dr. M. Ramachandran and other senior officers of the Ministry were also present.   

            Following is the text of Agenda for Action for 100 days:

            The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has the responsibility of broad policy formulation and monitoring of programmes/schemes in the areas of urban development, urban water supply, sanitation and urban transport. Although these are primarily State subjects, the Government of India plays a coordinating and monitoring role and also supports these programmes through centrally sponsored schemes.

            However the UPA government—taking into account fast urban growth in India—took the historic step of launching the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) on 3^rd December 2005 with a view to give fillip to urban infrastructure development in 65 major cities by mobilizing Rs. 50, 000 crores from the central budget and by getting a matching Rs. 50, 000 crores from the State governments and the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The response to JNNURM has been spontaneous and overwhelming. As a consequence, projects costing Rs 95, 385 crores have already been sanctioned and which are under various stages of implementation.

1.              Provision of additional funding under JNNURM

The Government of India, State governments and ULBs have committed to raise Rs. 1,00,000 crores of investments in the urban sector through JNNURM. However, it is recognized that further amount of Rs. 50, 000 crores would need to be raised urgently. Efforts will be made to raise the amount from Rs. 1, 00, 000 crores to Rs. 1, 50, 000 crores. To reach this goal, Government of India has t contribute Rs. 25, 000 crores.  

2.              Inclusion of more cities under JNNURM

When JNNURM was launched on 6h December 2005, the stress was laid on cities with population of only 10 lakhs and above (2001 Census). Now a concerted effort will be made to include such cities having population of 5 lakhs and above. This will mean adding 28 more cities to the current list of 65 Mission cities.

3.              Emphasis on small and medium towns

Along with the scheme of Mission cities, another scheme for small and medium towns was launched in 2005 known as Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme in Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT). Rs. 11, 400 crores was allocated under this scheme. The demand from such cities is growing at a very high rate. Therefore, we will try to secure to secure further additional allocation under the UIDSSMT so as to meet the needs of small and medium towns.  

4.              National Mission Mode Project (NMMP) on e-Governance in Municipalities under JNNURM

The National Mission Mode Project (NMMP) on e-Governance in Municipalities is an important initiative of the Government of India for improving operational efficiencies and promoting transparency and accountability in delivery of eight services namely:

§      Registration and issue of birth certificate

§      Payment of property tax & utility bills

§      Citizen grievances

§      Building plan approvals

§      Procurements and monitoring of projects

§      Health programmes including licenses and solid waste management

§      Accounting system and

§      Personal Information System

NMMP on e-Governance is presently being implemented in 35 cities with a population of above 10 lakhs as per 2001 census under JNNURM. Now it is proposed to increase the coverage from 65 Mission cities by including 28 more cities having population of 5 lakhs and above. Ultimately the aim is to cover all 423 towns with population of over 1 lakh as per 2001 census.

5.              Scheme for Infrastructure Development in Satellite Towns and Counter magnets

In order to lessen pressure on large cities, the Ministry will launch the scheme for satellite towns/counter magnets around mega cities to address basic infrastructure deficit such as drinking water, sewerage, drainage and solid waste management. An amount of Rs. 500 crores will be invested in this scheme.

6.              Metro Projects

·                      The Metro projects in Bangalore (42.3 kms costing Rs. 8,158 crores) and Kolkata (14.6 kms at Rs. 4,874 crores) will be provided all assistance.

·                      The work on Chennai metro (45 kms at a cost of Rs. 14, 600 crores) and Mumbai Metro Line 2 from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra (32 kms at a cost of Rs. 7,660 crores) will be formally launched.

·                      Kochi metro project will be taken up for sanction.

·                      The National Capital (NCR) Region of Delhi will get connected to Delhi Metro with NOIDA link getting commissioned in August 2009.

·                      The Metro in Gurgaon will become functional in January 2010 and it shall get connected to Delhi by June 2010.

7.              Buses for City transport  

Buses are the major means of public transport for all the cities. For the first time in the history of independent India, substantial assistance has been made available for purchase of 15,220 modern buses for city transport for 61 mission cities. These buses will be delivered by December 2009. As we consider public transport in cities a critical issue, we will try to organize assistance in procurement of such buses in 118 cities having a population of two lakhs and above.  

8.              Metro experience on the city buses

To provide Metro experience on bus services to commuters, modern buses with low floor or semi low floor and wide doors, vehicle tracking system, on-line passenger information system, LED sign boards, electronic ticketing, smart cards etc. are envisaged. About 20% buses will provide air-conditioned comfort as well.  A unique public transport help line number will be established for all cities across India.

9.              Initiatives to dispense with tax burden on public buses

Our Ministry pleaded with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for completely doing away with the excise duty on public buses. Consequently, in the budget of 2008-2009, the excise duty was reduced from 16 to 12 percent, and it was further reduced from 12 to 8 per cent in January 2009. We are making further efforts with the MoF for reducing the excise duty from eight to nil per cent. Efforts will be made to prevail upon the State/ ULBs to waive off State/ULB taxes on public buses in cities.

10.           Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement (RCTA)

RCTA between Delhi, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan will become operational for both Stage carriage and Contract carriage. It will facilitate free movement of Buses, Taxis and Auto rickshaws across state borders without stopping.

11.           Centres of Excellence

The work for opening of 13 Centres of Excellence located in the India Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and other institutions of national importance to focus on urban transport and urban affairs will commence and financial assistance for same will be provided by the Ministry.  These Centres would take up research and training in various aspects of urban development and urban transport and also provide technical support to the Ministry. In the area of Urban Transport, the Centres of Excellence will also conduct M. Tech. and PHD programmes for students and in-service professionals. MOUs will be signed with these Institutions.

12.           National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

The National Mission for Sustainable Habitat will address issues related to sustainable development with co-benefits for climate change. We will promote sustainability of habitats through appropriate changes in legal and regulatory frameworks, improvements in energy efficiency in buildings, integrated urban planning, improved management of solid and liquid waste including recycling, power generation from waste, modal shift towards public transport and conservation of resources.  We will also seek to build capacities for adaptation to climate change, community-based disaster management systems, comprehensive mobility, spatial and environment planning, and advance warning systems for extreme weather events.  As a first step, our Ministry’s endeavour will be to develop sustainable habitat parameters within next three months.

13.           Implementation of the National Urban Sanitation Policy

The Ministry proposes to launch a nation-wide media campaign for awareness-generation towards sanitation.  It is proposed to support 50 cities for drawing up the City Sanitation Plans.  It is also proposed to take up rating of cleanest cities on sanitation-related parameters.

14.           North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme  (NERUDP)

The address the urban infrastructure deficit in the, the Asian Development Bank-assisted North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme will be launched for implementation at project cost of about Rs 1,371 crores. Five cities of Agartala, Aizawl, Gangtok, Kohima and Shillong will be taken up in the first phase. States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur will be taken up in 2010.

15.           Matter relating to the Delhi Master Plan 2021

The Delhi Master Plan 2021 envisages involvement of private sector in the development of land and provision of infrastructure services as an improvement over the current scheme of large-scale development and acquisition of land entrusted to the Delhi Development Agency (DDA).  Focused efforts will be made to finalize the policy. Every effort will be made to finalize the Zonal Development Plans of Delhi.

16.           Real Estate Regulator for Delhi

Real Estate Management (Regulation & Control) Bill for NCT of Delhi will be taken up for decision.

17.           Building up 65, 000 houses by the DDA in next four years

In order to meet acute shortage of houses for urban poor, economically weaker sections and lower income groups of city of Delhi, construction of about 40, 000 houses will be taken up. Tender documents for construction of such houses have already been made ready with fast mode of construction adopting pre-fabricated technology. Here, about 10, 000 houses are phased to be completed every year from the year 2010 onwards.

In addition to above, about 10,000 houses for middle-income group will be taken up on the same technology of pre-fabricated construction in four years’ time in phases.

Apart from the above, about 15, 000 houses will be completed (ongoing projects) in various phases. These houses will be constructed on conventional technology and these will be available from the year 2009 to 2011 (details enclosed at Annexure 1).

18.           In-situ development of houses for Jhuggi-jhompri (JJ) clusters and slum-dwellers

The DDA will take up in-situ development towards rehabilitation of slum-dwellers and JJ clusters in next five years for 23 clusters (details enclosed at Annexure 2). The total numbers of dwelling units of about 25 square meters will be about 47, 500. These will be taken up on public-private partnership model in which the land to in question that is presently occupied by the JJ/slum-dwellers will be made available to developers, which will construct EWS houses in accordance with the numbers identified by the DDA. These houses will be constructed on part of the area while in the remaining area, the developer will be allowed to carry out commercial exploitation of the land. The bidding parameter is envisaged to be the amount to be paid to the DDA in addition to the number of houses identified by the DDA in each cluster/land.

19.           Bio-diversity parks by the DDA

DDA has launched a unique conservation initiative by establishing a network of bio-diversity parks in Delhi that are developed and maintained by the DDA with scientific inputs from the ‘Centre for Environmental Management for Degraded Eco-systems’ (CEMDE), Delhi University. This is a task taken up for the conservation and preservation of the environment.

These bio-diversity parks are uniquely landscaped and designed in-house by the landscape department of the DDA. A first of its kind in India and perhaps in the world are natural resources that harbor hundreds of varieties of species living together in the form of diverse communities providing ecological balance and educational benefits to the urban society.

Two bio-diversity parks are under active development to protect and conserve the two natural elements in Delhi, i.e., (i) Yamuna Bio-diversity Park at Wazirabad to revive the lost ecological systems of Yamuan River, and (ii) Aravalli Bio-diversity Park at Vasant Vihar in the extension of the ridge area to revive its lost eco-systems.

DDA will fully develop a chain of such bio-diversity parks in Delhi as mentioned hereunder:

·                      Northern Ridge

·                      Tilpath valley

·                      Neela Hauz

·                      River Front Development (Yamuna River front)

20.           Sports Complexes in Delhi

In addition to the development activities and construction of housing complexes, DDA is also engaged in development of Sports Complexes, multi-gyms for the citizens of Delhi. DDA has already developed 14 such Sports Complexes and 39 multi-gyms.

In the near future, DDA will develop four new Sports Complexes, namely:

·                      A Racquet Sports Complex at Sector 17, Dwarka

·                      Sports Complexes at Sector 8, 19 and 23, Dwarka

·                      Sports complex to be developed at Sector 24, Rohini

·                      Sports Complex at Narela

21.            50% Reservation for women in Urban Local Bodies

Steps are being initiated towards moving a draft bill and for Consultation with States as a follow up of the Hon’ble President’s address to Parliament towards 50 per cent reservation for women in ULBs.

22.           Facilitating of City Volunteer Technical Corps

Facilitating the formation of setting up of professionals as City Volunteer Technical Corps in all the 65 Mission cities through the State governments will be undertaken.

23.            Service Level Benchmarks

Benchmarks for e-Governance in Urban Local Bodies and Urban Transportation will be set