Centre asks urban bodies to access funds from capital market

New Delhi, Jun 30 (UNI) The Centre today urged Urban Local Bodies (ULB) to move away from dependence on budgetary sources on higher level of governments and access funds from the capital market to fund projects relating to urban development and infrastructure.

Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Dr M Ramachandran said here that ULBs have to become viable entities and provide good quality services to citizens.

He said that in a bid to cope with massive problems emerged as a result of rapid urban growth, it became imperative for the government to draw up coherent urbanisation programme to implement urban development project in cities on mission mode. To this end, the government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). He said the programme had provided a platform to urban local bodies to change. Along with providing huge financial support for infrastructure, it had ushered in an era of reforms which was likely to make urban local bodies more accountable, transparent, efficient and effective.

Upon implementing the reforms, the urban local bodies were expected to become vibrant and self-sustaining entities capable of providing good quality of life to all its citizens, including the disadvantaged.

Dr Ramachandran was delivering the valedictory address at the 'Closure Workshop' on 'Capacity Building for Decentralised Urban Governance', jointly organised by Ministry of Urban Development and United Nations Development Programme, here today. The Ministry of Urban Development has partnered with the UNDP in this project to implement selected reforms in sixteen selected cities of four states namely Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The project aims at making urban local bodies in the country self-sufficient entities that respond to citizen's needs.

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