Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asked state governments to pay greater attention to the urban governance reforms and modernisation of infrastructure in cities.
Singh’s comments came at a meeting to review the progress of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission where he also asked states to work towards modernisation of urban infrastructure, with special focus on the lives of the urban poor.
Singh’s comments came at a meeting to review the progress of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission where he also asked states to work towards modernisation of urban infrastructure, with special focus on the lives of the urban poor.
“The Prime Minister assured the meeting that adequate financial resources will be made available provided the commitments undertaken are fulfilled,” an official statement said.Singh had launched JNNURM in December 2005 as a massive effort to improve urban infrastructure services. Urban development minister Jaipal Reddy had earlier informed the prime minister that some states had taken initiatives to implement programmes.
In the North East, four cities - Aizwal, Gangtok, Itanagar and Shillong - will have municipal bodies. The meeting noted that there was very positive response from urban bodies to the JNNURM and urged State Governments to speed up the implementation of urban infrastructure development and municipal reform.
