Posted on Thursday, December 03, 2009 - 11:43 am:

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Noting that urban chaos was becoming a way of life, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ] on Thursday emphasised on urban reforms, saying cities and towns are not an acceptable face of a rapidly modernising and developing economy.

"As infrastructure struggles to keep pace with demand, urban chaos is becoming a way of life. Our cities and towns are not an acceptable face of rapidly modernising and developing economy," he said at the national conference of Jawaharlal Nehru [ Images ] National Urban Renewal Mission, to mark the fourth anniversary of the flagship programme of the government.

He said the success of JNNURM was critical to tackling the problems that go with rapid urbanisation. Singh said the Centre has committed substantial funds for urban renewal along with the states and urban local bodies.

He said the two ministries of Urban Development and Urban Poverty Alleviation have approved projects worth Rs 103,462 crore (Rs 1,034.62 billion) for which the Centre has committed an assistance of Rs 55,625 crore (Rs 556.25 billion).

"It is good that the focus of projects approved under the mission has been on basic services like water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management, improvement of slums and construction of houses for the poor," he noted.

Stressing the government's commitment to urban sector, he said JNNURM has created a 'paradigm shift' in how the urban sector is viewed, both at state and city levels.

"This government can take great pride in having launched a mission that is a game changer for urban India [ Images ]," the prime minister said.

He said the balanced development of the urban sector is an integral part of the strategy for inclusive growth.

Pointing out that the process of municipal reform under the mission needs to deepen and be more even across cities, Singh said the urban local bodies have to develop the capacity to provide efficient, equitable and transparent governance.

"They have to have the ability to conceive, design and implement large projects. They have to be sensitive to the needs and welfare of the urban poor," he said, adding that improving the financial health of the municipalities was a priority.

"The states should fulfill their obligations to devolve functions and finances to municipal bodies.

State finance commissions have to be set up periodically and their recommendations implemented in both letter and spirit," he said.

Noting that only urban local bodies in good financial shape would be able to attract private investment or assistance from multilateral financial institutions, Singh said both of these are indispensable for financing the development of our cities.

Noting that affordable urban housing will be an area of focus, the prime minister said that more needs to be done even though JNNURM has a significant component of support for affordable housing for the urban poor.

"We will need to address this challenge through a combination of public financing and policies that encourage public-private partnerships," he said, hoping to launch the ambitious Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum dwellers within the city and redevelop the cities to make them slum-free.

Singh said urban infrastructure financing and development will be an area that will require significant attention in the coming years.

Pointing out that no vision of urban development can ever be complete without an effective, clean and sustainable urban transport system, he said that for the first time, the Centre has funded 15,260 modern and intelligent transport systems enabled buses for 61 mission cities as part of the economic stimulus package.

Promising that the government would explore the possibility of more resources for the mission, Singh said, "We will also work to widen and deepen urban renewal policies and reforms based on the experience of JNNURM".

The prime minister said some of the issues "we need to concentrate on are rural-urban integration, centrality of master plans to urban development, with special focus on urban poor, challenges of financing urban infrastructure, implementation of critical reforms like property title certification and resolving governance and institutional challenges facing the urban system".

He asked the ministry of urban development to set up a mechanism involving relevant ministries, city officials, planners and other stakeholders to study these issues.

Singh said the transition from primarily rural to an urban economy has been somewhat slower in India but our urban population might double in the next 20 years.

"This is both a challenge and an opportunity and will require concerted action across all tiers of our federal system if we are to tackle it," he added.

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Posted on Thursday, December 03, 2009 - 11:34 am:

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Mumbai's water woes claimed a life and left several injured on Thursday when police baton charged demonstrators protesting the cut in water supply to residential areas, in front of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters.

Vishal Dholakia (43), one among the few hundred protesters, allegedly died of head injuries at the G T Hospital in south Mumbai, close to the police headquarters, though the authorities attributed his death to heart attack. Superintendent of G T Hospital A V Kulkarni said Dholakia did not have any injury marks on his body.

Hundreds of people from the city and the suburbs had collected in front of BMC headquarters around noon under the banner of 'Swabhiman', an NGO run by Maharashtra minister Narayan Rane's son Nitesh, to protest the 15 per cent cut introduced in the wake of poor rainfall during monsoon.

Waving red flags and shouting slogans against the BMC, the agitators pulled down the barricades in their bid to barge into the civic body's headquarters.

"The crowd turned unruly and we used minimal of force to control them. They engaged in vandalism outside BMC office and could have gone out of control if allowed inside," Additional Commissioner of Police R K Padmanabhan said.

Asked what could possibly be the reason behind Dholakia's death, hospital superintendent Kulkarni said it would be clear only after a post-mortem examination was done.

He said nine of the wounded demonstrators were undergoing treatment at the hospital but refused to comment on their condition. ACP Padmanabhan, however, claimed none of them had any serious injury.
Nitesh Rane has, meanwhile, been arrested, police said, adding he was being produced before a local court.

Close watchers of the BMC politics said the root of the incident lay in the recent victory of Shiv Sena candidate Shraddha Jadhav in the Mayoral elections in which she defeated the Congress nominee.

Narayan Rane, the powerful Maharashtra minister for revenue and a former Shiv Sena chief minister, was upset over the victory of Jadhav and was said to have mobilised his supporters for the protest demonstration, which turned ugly.
The Shiv Sena-controlled BMC had first proposed to affect 30 per cent water cut for the whole of Mumbai and its suburbs due to scanty rainfall to enable its lakes and reservoirs retain water till the advent of next monsoon.

However, under public pressure, the civic body slashed the cut for residential areas to 15 per cent.

Nitesh said his organisation would not allow the mayor, BMC commissioner and corporators to move around if the cut was not rescinded.

"People of Mumbai are suffering as they get less water. The water supply should be normalised. 'Matoshree' (the bungalow of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray) gets 24-hour water supply. What sin have common people in Mumbai committed to get erratic and reduced water supply," he told media persons before his arrest.

Nitesh was later produced before a metropolitan magistrate in south Mumbai, which granted him bail on a surety of Rs 5,000.

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