Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

"Cities Must Care for their Poor" - Prime Minister

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh chaired a review meeting of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Complimenting the Union Ministry of Urban Development for taking up eight city development plans within three months of launching the Mission, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of focusing on the welfare of the poor and the dispossessed in pursuing urban renewal and development. "The JNNURM should improve basic services in urban areas and make our cities more liveable for all" said the Prime Minister.

"The Urban Renewal Mission is not an elitist project to beautify cities, but it is an important social and economic intervention in urban development aimed at improving the quality of life of slum-dwellers and the poor", the Prime Minister said. Sharing the Prime Minister's vision, Mr Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys and Member of the advisory group said the Urban Renewal Mission "does not view the poor and the migrants as a burden, but in fact views them as a resource."

Reporting the progress in the implementation of the Mission, Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr Jaipal Reddy, informed the meeting that within three months of the launch of the Mission 8 cities in 4 states had already submitted city development plans and had indicated their commitment to city level reform initiatives to secure entitlement to funds under the Mission. These cities are Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Indore, Nagpur, Rajkot, Surat, and Vijawada. He expressed the hope that more cities will come forward and seek to benefit from the JNNURM. Many other cities are now preparing City Development Plans. There are 63 cities being covered under the JNNURM.

Among the reforms that cities will have to undertake under this Mission are slum improvement programmes and resource mobilization initiatives. State governments will have to rationalize and reduce stamp duty. Public Disclosure and Community Participation laws would have to be enacted to reform urban governance.

Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Ahluwalia urged state governments to "use JNNURM funds to improve urban services like provision of drinking water and sanitation and creation of public spaces, rather than just build flyovers." Participants at the meeting, including urban planner O P Mathur and urban activist Sheela Patel, emphasized the need for creating more "caring cities". Union minister of state for poverty alleviation and urban employment Ms. Shelja said public participation in drawing up "city development plans" was vital to the success of the reform and development effort.