Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Needs of urban poor should be given high focus: plan panel

CHENNAI: The State Planning Commission has called for tapping resources of the private sector to take up urban development projects, particularly in water supply, sanitation and solid waste management.

In its document on the 11th Plan, the Commission said funding under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and other schemes of the Union government might improve the situation of fund availability but only marginally, that too in respect of cities such as Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore. “There is an urgent need for a massive infusion of investment to make Tamil Nadu’s urban centres liveable and make them achieve world standards,” the document said, adding that the investment could come through public private partnerships.

Noting that urbanisation in the State was likely to accelerate further in the coming decade, the panel visualised a scenario wherein over 50 per cent of the total population would be living in urban areas by 2011.

The panel fixed the targets for privatisation of operation and maintenance of water supply, sewerage and solid waste management. In the case of water supply, the privatisation could be a minimum of 20 per cent in town panchayats and 30 per cent in municipalities and municipal corporations other than Chennai.

In the case of Chennai Corporation, it could be in the range of 70 per cent to 80 per cent. In the case of sewerage, a minimum of 30 per cent was prescribed for municipalities, town panchayats and corporations other than Chennai while the range suggested for the city was 70 per cent to 80 per cent. As for solid waste management, the panel fixed the target of 30 per cent for all the local bodies.

On the status of the basic amenities in the urban local bodies (ULBs), the document said only 41 out of 152 municipalities had the minimum service level of 90 litres per capita per day of potable water. Only 18 ULBs had underground sewerage schemes. “During the Eleventh Plan, the government will have to support urban local bodies to find sustainable and time-bound solutions to develop and maintain a high quality of infrastructure and address the issue of providing basic services, particularly to the urban poor.”

Referring to the Hyderabad model of allowing transferable development rights in exchange for land needed for widening of roads, the document said such an innovative scheme should be tried here too. A high order of investment would be needed in basic services like water supply and sanitation where tariff would necessarily have to be based on relatively low paying capacity of consumers. There would be a need for strong government intervention by way of enabling ULBs to access the required funds. The needs of the urban poor should be given high focus.

Calling for the provision of basic services for the urban poor into macro strategies for urban development, the panel said organisations such as the Slum Clearance Board should look at novel schemes for slum improvement with the participation of the intended beneficiaries and private sector involvement, wherever possible.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu