The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was the urban renewal mission launched by the Indian government in 2005.
It was a significant step taken to improve the quality of life and economic conditions for those living in urban India and provide better infrastructure.
The program is being phased out now, but it has been successful in many ways. In this essay, I will outline some of the goals and achievements over the years.
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What is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission?
JNNURM stands for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. It is a large-scale urban infrastructure and housing program launched in 2005 to improve the quality of life and economic conditions for those living in India’s cities and provide better infrastructure. The goal was ultimately to make Indian cities more ‘liveable’ while stimulating public and private investments.
The JNNURM program has been phased out now, but it has had many significant impacts over the years since its launch.
What are some goals and achievements of the JNNURM?
Why did they come up with such a plan?
It is important to note that it was not just the Indian government that came up with this plan. The JNNURM mission had three main components, which were proposed by other sectors of society:
The first component is “cooperative federalism,” where different municipalities and governments have more power over their finances.
This would allow them to make important decisions about investing money in improvement projects within their city limits, rather than having to work under a centralized system set out by the national or state-level administration.
This policy has been shown to have increased accountability among lower levels of government, who may now be held responsible for carrying out infrastructure reforms at their end.
Main Objectives
- Infrastructural services relating to development should be covered in our mission.
- Make cities more efficient and self-sufficient. Make sure that they have the proper infrastructure and that they are getting better. Make sure you invest enough money to fix the things that are not working.
- Planned development of cities including peri-urban areas, outgrowths, and urban corridors. This way, the city can grow without spreading too much.
- More public services should be given to poor people. That means more electricity and water.
- Urban renewal is a program to develop inner-city areas. It is done to reduce congestion.
- We should provide basic things to the poor people. It will be better. They will have a place to live, water, and something that help them learn.
The benefits of this mission
There are many, but the most important one is that it has helped cities create better infrastructure. This can be seen in the increase of quality housing for citizens who were previously living in slums or substandard dwellings and an overall improvement to transportation systems and other public spaces within Indian metropolises.
The JNNURM plan was also largely successful because there was a lot of social mobilization before its launch – including discussion forums where citizens got together to voice their concerns about what should change regarding urban India’s development policy.
This kind of transparency makes people feel like they are part of creating solutions rather than simply having them imposed on them by others (such as government officials).
Duration Of JNNURM Scheme
The mission was for seven years. During this time, the mission made sure that the cities were safe. They also looked at how it is going after five years. The task is now over, but they are doing it for two more years.
The government will give money to cities that have developed strategies. And they will give money to people in the cities who are eligible for the grant or loan. The thing is that they need you to be transparent and accountable with your projects.
The government provides public-private partnerships and cost recovery to help service providers become financially sustainable. The proportion of grant money provided by the federal government ranges from 35% in large cities to 90% in the towns in the Northeast.
Depending on size, most cities get grants covering 50% or 80%, with capacity building as part of this objective to assist urban local governments in developing plans and projects.
Right now, there are ten projects that JNNURM funds are spent on. These include road networks, storm drains, bus rapid transit systems, water supply systems, sewage treatment plants, and farming in slums. All these types of work fall under the scope of JNNURM.
State-Level Implementation
Gujarat has made ten reforms. These are changes that make life better for people. Five states have made 9 of the ten reforms. These are Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh.
Only five states passed laws about public disclosure and community participation in 2009. But, by 2012, 27 other states had enacted these laws. Twenty out of the 31 states had decentralized the responsibility for water supply and sanitation from the state to ULBs. And 19 others had done so for city planning functions.
Visakhapatnam, Surat, and Pune are the most prosperous cities in terms of city-level reforms. Chennai, Greater Mumbai, and Hyderabad are also doing well, with 7 out of 8 reforms. There are 67 cities in total. Thirty have recovered costs for property tax collection for water supply and sanitation. Twenty have recovered the cost for water supply and sanitation services. But only eight have rescued costs for solid waste management.”
In 2009, 415 projects worth ₹440 billion ($6.2 billion) were approved. This is the same as half of the total amount that was planned for these projects. The state with the most investment in Maharashtra and Bangalore has the most of these projects in cities.
How to get involved in the mission?
If you are interested in getting involved with this mission, there are many ways to do so. The best way is to contact your local government and see if they have any opportunities available for people who would like to be a part of the JNNURM program.
Why should you care about the JNNURM?
The JNNURM is important because it helps to encourage cooperation between different levels of government and allows people who live in cities to have more control over what happens in their day-to-day lives.
What are some potential problems?
Many issues arose which affected both the quality and efficiency of this program on a large scale.
Firstly, there was an issue with public vs. private funds – since part of the requirements for applying for funding through this mission included having matching contributions from local municipalities or other groups (like NGOs).
This meant that not all projects ended up receiving funding due to a lack of available resources. However, future iterations should consider changing how they allocate money. Instead of requiring matching funds, they would rather work by providing more funds for privately funded projects.
What other information should you know about the JNNURM?
The Indian government has considered revising their urban development program based on lessons from this mission – so we may see a new version shortly! Stay tuned to find out what happens next with India’s cities.
Who can apply for funding through this program?
Any municipality or group of people who live within city limits can apply for funding through this mission.
What happens if you cannot meet the requirements?
If a project does not have matching funds, they may still be able to receive money from the government – but it will depend on which stage their project is at and how much work has already been done.
What are alternatives ways to get involved in your region’s development?
You could contact local politicians and ask them about opportunities available for citizens interested in being part of JNNURM – after all, getting more voices heard means that there will ultimately be better solutions created! You could also consider joining an NGO where you’d like to see the improvement made so that you can contribute ideas directly.
FAQs
Some common questions are not necessarily covered in this article, but you can find the answers to them here!
Q: How does JNNURM involve multiple levels of government?
A: The mission’s objective is for cooperation between different levels of government – which means that they work together towards a common goal.
Q: How many cities are covered in JNNURM?
A: There are currently over 100 cities that have taken part in this mission.
Q: How is Amrut different from JNNURM?
The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) continues the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). But AMRUT only focused on big cities. The JNNURM worked on towns too.
Conclusion
I hope this blog post has given you some new information on JNNURM – I know it was certainly interesting to learn about!
Still, you have probably noticed that this mission has some problems that need to be addressed if it is going to continue in the future – but hopefully, the government will take note of these issues and address them accordingly.
Please let me know what you think about JNNURM, or even better, share your own experiences with similar programs! I would love to hear from anyone who can give me more information on how cities are improving worldwide.