With hardly six months left for the completion of the projects sanctioned under the Phase 1 of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the state is headed to become one of the worst performers in the country, in terms of implementation.
It is unlikely that Kerala will complete even a single one, out of the 10 projects sanctioned under the JNNURM Urban Infrastructure Governance (UIG) scheme before the March, 2014, deadline.
The LSGD secretary had informed the Urban Development ministry in July that two projects - renewal of Ernakulam Broadway and Market Heritage - under the UIG will be dropped and five other projects would stretch beyond the deadline.
Though the government hopes to complete the remaining two projects on time, it seems to be doing precious little to live up to its words. Sources point out that meeting the deadline was next to impossible for the five projects, due to the land acquisition costs involved.
In the remaining two - the water supply projects for Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram - the state government is yet to release the funds needed for their implementation. Kochi Corporation is awaiting the disbursal of Rs 35 lakh for implementing the project.
Manjalamkuzhi Ali, Minister for Urban Affairs and Welfare of Minorities, said that the government is hopeful of completing the two water supply projects. “We have dropped two projects and have informed the Central government that we will expedite actions to complete the rest. The Kochi and Trivandrum water supply projects will be surely completed before deadline,” he said.