100 pc water supply, modern sewers to cities: Jaipal Reddy

New Delhi, June 16 (UNI) The 63 cities that have prepared city development plans under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) would be provided with 100 per cent water supply, modern sewers and waste disposal systems or better bus services.

Six cities would be covered under the 100 per cent water supply scheme. These are Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam, Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy informed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today at a review meeting taken by Dr Singh.

The Prime Minister assured the meeting that adequate financial resources will be made available provided the commitments undertaken are fulfilled.

Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vijayawada will be fully covered by modern sewerage systems.

Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow and Rajkot will have systems for collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of wastes. Six cities will have improved Bus Rapid Transit Systems. These are Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Indore, Pune, Thane and Vijayawada.

Aizwal, Gangtok, Itanagar and Shillong will have municipal bodies.

Thirty-three cities have implemented e-governance reforms. Forty cities have earmarked funds for services to urban poor. Eleven cities have achieved 85 per cent coverage efficiency in property tax collection, while eight cities have achieved 90 per cent.

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.

Dr Singh reviewed the progress of the Mission and reiterated the need for State Governments to pay greater attention to the reform of urban governance and the modernization of urban infrastructure, with special focus on the lives of the poor in urban areas.

UNI