To give a major thrust to infrastructure development in urban Gujarat, the state government is planning to pump in around Rs15,000 crore, for which it has sought the Centre’s aid. It has requested the Central government to increase the upper limit of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) of Gujarat and grant an additional of at least Rs15,000 crore in keeping with the development need of the state’s urban sector.
So far, the central government has approved projects worth more than Rs8,000 crore for four major cities of the state namely, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara. These projects are already on its way to get implemented.
A highly placed source in the state government said that apart from seeking the fund, the state government has also requested the Centre to incorporate 13 new cities under JNNRUM.
Saurabh Patel, minister of state for finance who recently attended the All India Finance Ministers’ meet at New Delhi, sent a formal request stating, “Considering the need for developing the urban sector in Gujarat, the ceiling in JNNURM for Gujarat should be relaxed and an additional of Rs15,000 crore must be granted. In the wake of current economic slowdown, it would be extremely difficult for the state and local bodies to make high contribution, and hence funding for additional projects should be in the ratio of 80:10:10 for Centre, state and local bodies, respectively, as against the present 50:15:35.”
“To revive the economy, cities that are the economic growth centres of Gujarat should also be covered as ‘mission cities’ under JNNURM. We recommend the inclusion of Jamnagar, Gandhidham, Morbi (each supporting US$ 6 billion investment) and Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Navsari, Bardoli, Valsad, Anand, Mehsana and Palanpur. The state government’s request to include Karamsad, birth place of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Gandhinagar under JNNRUM is also awaiting approval,” Patel requested.
