Pitching for the public-private partnership (PPP) in urban infrastructure, government on Wednesday said projects like Metro rail can also be implemented through PPP model.
"Metro rail projects in Hyderabad and Mumbai are to come up through PPP model. This is for the first time in the country that we are allowing Metro to be operational in these two cities through PPP," Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy said.
"Despite the fact projects in the urban sector do not lend themselves easily to the PPP model and there are limits to what the government can do, Metro projects in these cities are being implemented under the PPP mode," he said.
Reddy was speaking on a seminar on urban infrastructure in New Delhi on Wednesday. Besides Metro, government is also keen to allow bus rapid transit (BRT) system, construction of road over bridge (ROB) and underpass through the PPP mode, he said.
Referring to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme, he said, "It is an important milestone in the reform agenda of the government. The scheme envisages creation of infrastructure in cities through government assisted fund. Till now the scheme is operational in 63 cities."
The JNNURM scheme launched in the end of 2005 recognises that mere funding of infrastructure projects alone will not enable in transforming cities and what is required is a clear focus on a set of reforms to be undertaken both at the state and the urban local body level.
However, Reddy said, with urban local bodies continuing to suffer from capacity constraints and lack of technically qualified manpower, the response from a few states to JNNURM has not been encouraging.
Nevertheless 54 out of 63 cities are implementing more than one project under the JNNURM, he said.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP and Ficci President, speaking on the occasion, mentioned about the requirement of the local bodies of mega cities to raise up to 50 per cent of the funds themselves and for the state governments to raise another 15 per cent.
"Only then will the 35 per cent in the form of grants from the Centre under JNNURM be released," he said.
