The biggest bane of most developing cities in the country is disorderly growth.
Kochi too has been facing this problem and can learn some lessons from the experience of other cities such as Bangalore, perhaps. It was considered one of the best places to be in some years ago, and now it is very much a chaotic city.
Suddenly, Kochi too has become a prime destination for many a venture. The list of such projects has been growing - the Vallarpadam international container terminal, Smart City, the Indian Institute of Technology project of the Cochin University of Science and Technology and Metro Rail.
It is perhaps in this context that the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (NURM), launched on December 3, has particular significance for Kochi. One of the 27 cities selected in the category of population between 10 lakhs to 40 lakhs, Kochi would get assistance from the Union and State Government to raise the bar of infrastructure facilities, which are grossly inadequate as of now.
Choking roads
The population explosion and migration has put the city under strain, and it is unable to cope with burden of such a large number of people. "Within a couple of years Kochi's roads will be choked," said senior architect A.K. Jayachandran of Jayachandran Associates. "The city is developing left and right." Housing projects have grown exponentially, which alone shows the demand, said Mr. Jayachandran.
According to the note on NURM, cities and towns contribute over 50 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product and are central to economic growth. These cities can realise their full potential only when focussed attention is given to improving infrastructure.
NURM with a corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore intends to recharge these cities and help them cope with the massive growth.
Making available such substantial funds for urban facilities will bring in innovative infrastructure development with private-public partnership, said P.M. John, Secretary, Kerala State Housing Board.
The mission covers the viable risks in a project. Private players will be interested in planning projects under the mission, as the Government will provide a buffer for the initial losses, which are inevitable in infrastructure projects, said Mr. John. The payback period for these projects is usually long, he added.
Major problems of Kochi are perhaps water-logging, transportation and water supply, said Mr. John. The funds can be utilised to tackle these problems.
A sound master plan with the help of satellite services will be required to make zoning changes, said Mr. John. A number of projects that have been envisaged by private players can be realised through the mission by bringing in more transparency.
Guiding force
There is a need for a guiding force to implement the mission's aim in a city's perspective, said Mr. Jayachandran. A group of experts or a social organisation will be needed to implement the projects the right way.
More open areas have to be found and the development of the city has to be spread there, Mr. Jayachandran said. As far as Kochi is concerned, it has a limitation on the West side, so development should be pushed to the eastern side, he said. "There is also more land available there," he added.
Framework
The mission framework is for a period of 20 to 25 years with five-yearly updates. Each city has to identify projects and strategies, which will be vetted by a Central sanctioning and monitoring committee in the Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation.
A national steering group chaired by the Minister of Urban Development will consider the requests from the States for inclusion under NURM. These will be scrutinised by the sanctioning and monitoring Committee. At the State-level, a steering committee chaired by the Chief Minister will decide and prioritise projects under the mission.
The Centre, State and the local body in the ratio of 50:25:25 will finance projects in the case of Kochi, it being in the category of a city with a population of over 10 lakhs.
The States and the urban local bodies need to undertake certain reforms too to be able to get their projects sanctioned. Kochi Corporation will be able to meet most of the reforms, said C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor of the Corporation. Some of them are already in progress, he said.
The council will form an expert committee and decide what projects will be submitted under NURM.
* * *
Reforms at the local level
Certain reforms at the State and municipal levels are mandatory for the implementation of the JNNURM. The State-level reforms required are:
Effective implementation of the decentralisation initiative as envisaged in the Constitution (seventy-fourth) Amendment Act, 1992.
Repeal of Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976.
Reform of Rent Control laws, by balancing the interests of landlords and tenants.
Rationalisation of stamp duty to bring it down to no more than 5 per cent within 7 years.
Enactment of a public disclosure law.
Enactment of a community participation law, so as to institutionalise citizens' participation in local decision-making.
Association of elected municipalities with the city planning function.
(In respect of schemes for basic services to the urban poor and schemes for water supply and sanitation, the two mandatory reforms - repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Act and reform of rent control laws will be treated as optional).
* * *
Activities admissible under JNNURM
Urban Renewal - that is redevelopment of inner (old) city areas (this would include items such as widening of narrow streets, shifting of industrial and commercial establishments from non-conforming (inner-city) areas to `conforming' (outer-city) areas to reduce congestion, replacement of old and worn-out water pipes by new/higher capacity ones, renewal of sewerage/ drainage/ solid waste disposal systems, etc). Land acquisition cost will not be financed under this component of the programme.
Water Supply, including setting up desalination plants, where necessary.
Sewerage and solid waste management.
Construction and improvement of drains/ storm water drains.
Urban transport.
Laying/ improvement/ widening of arterial/ sub-arterial roads and bridges to remove transport bottlenecks.
Laying of ring roads and bypasses around metro and mega cities, provided certain cost recovery measures such as toll charges are built-in.
Construction and development of bus and truck terminals.
Environmental improvement and city beautification schemes.
http://www.thehindu.com/pp/2005/12/1...1000580100.htm
http://cochinoverseasfundsociety.blogspot.com
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