‘Cityscapes 2008’ Convention on Urban Infrastructure Opens

With urban local bodies continuing to suffer from capacity constraints and lack of technically qualified manpower, the response from many states in north India to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects has not been encouraging, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Urban Development said here today.
 
Inaugurating ‘Cityscapes 2008’ the Convention on Urban Infrastructure on the theme: Innovating Change & Rejuvenating Cities with Public Private Linkages, organized by FICCI with the support of the Ministry of Urban Development, Mr. Reddy said: “ Despite the fact that projects in the urban sector do not lend themselves easily to the PPP model, and there are limits to what the governments can do, metro rail projects in several metro cities are being implemented under the PPP mode.”
 
For these projects, 20 per cent of the cost was being met through grants by the Centre and another 20 per cent was being provided by the respective state governments, Mr. Reddy said, adding that “we are also working out model concession agreements for the metro rail projects.”
 
Responding to the observations by Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP & President, FICCI, Mr. Reddy disclosed that five states, namely, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, have agreed to advance timelines for the provision of urban services and added that under JNNURM 54 of the 63 cities are implementing more than one project.
 
The Minister ruled out any shortage of hotel rooms for the Commonwealth Games in 2010. The emphasis would be on budget hotels for which DDA has sold 30 small plots as hotel sites.
 
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP & President, FICCI, spelt out some of the new approaches that need to be adopted by city planners and managers to improve the urban situation in the country. These include: developing commercially viable urban infrastructure projects; financing by accessing the capital market; credit rating of municipal and urban infrastructure entities; and forging  Public Private Partnerships in the provision of urban infrastructure. Further, there was  need to develop capacities of urban local bodies and bring in the use of Information Technology in urban governance and management, he said.
 
Pradeep Singh, Chairman, FICCI Committee on Urban Infrastructure and Vice Chairman & MD, IDFC Projects Ltd. highlighted three opportunities for enhancing efficiencies through JNNURM. These are: focusing on actual reforms rather than mere promises to reform; mainstreaming PPP through JNNURM and linking financing with performance rather than formulas.