Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 13.06.2009

Rs. 614 crores to be spent on water supply

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa government on Friday admitted that people faced drinking water problem in towns like Berhampur, Khurda, Bhawanipatna, Bargarh and Talcher during the summer season.

Replying to a query, Minister of State for Urban Development Badri Narayan Patra said Rs. 614.44 crores would be spent on drinking water supply in at least 24 towns under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Focusing on drinking water problem prevailing in Berhampur, Mr. Patra said at present the city had a population of 3,60,000 and 35 million litre of drinking water was being supplied to different colonies.

“A project envisaging an expenditure of Rs. 527.95 lakhs has already got Union government’s nod. Upon completion, a 20 million litre capacity water treatment plant would be constructed at Dakshinapur reservoir. Work on the project would commence once tenders will be finalised,” the Minister said.

In the second phase, Rs. 32 crores was planned to be spent on laying pipelines in Berhampur city under UIDSSMT programme, he said.

Mr. Patra said new areas of the city would be covered under piped drinking water supply and outdated supply pipes in old areas would be replaced with new pipelines for which a detailed project report was being prepared.

For permanent solution to drinking water problem, a feasibility report had been finalised, he said.

Source : The Hindu Date : 13.06.2009

Local bodies development fund to be floated

N.J. Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting an end to the indecision for two years and paying around Rs.2 crore as commitment charges to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for poor absorption of the sanctioned funds, the government is learnt to have decided to go ahead with a proposal for floating a Local Government Development Fund.

The fund would be a permanent single-window lending and project development facility for local self-government institutions which are reeling under acute funds crunch for taking up major development projects.

A sum of Rs.24,358 lakh, sanctioned under the Kerala State Urban Development Project (KSUDP) for infrastructure development in civic bodies, has been remaining largely unutilised owing to the government’s indecisiveness in floating the fund. The alleged lapse of the government in utilising the funds had cost the exchequer Rs.2 crore.

Sole source

At present, the Kerala Urban and Rural Development Finance Corporation (KURDFC) is the only recourse for civic bodies to seek funds for their development initiatives.

The corporation sources its funds from government banks and financial institutions at 10.88 per cent interest for funding the LSGIs.

The corporation too does not have sufficient resources at its disposal to meet the increasing demand for financial support.

Even the financial assistance for various development projects do not have much takers since the LSGIs do not have own funds to contribute the mandatory 20 per cent of the allocation for availing themselves of the facility.

Official sources told The Hindu that steps would be taken soon to create the fund through an Act of the Assembly.

The corpus for the new funding facility would be sourced through government contribution as well as from the capital markets at a lesser rate.

A board headed by the Local Self-Government Minister would manage the fund. It would comprise the Secretaries of LSG, Planning, Modernisation Government Programme (MGP), Finance, Director of Urban Affairs, a mayor, a municipal chairman and a panchayat president.

Professional deals

The Assembly would have a crucial role in the ownership of the fund. It would be managed by an asset management company and have a team of professionals and also the participation of financial institutions in the equity.

The proposed funding facility is expected to give a fillip to the development activities of the LSGIs.