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City Development Plan |
I. Introduction
Urbanization was the driving
force for the faster economic growth that India experienced
during the 1990s. Estimates of urban areas’ contribution to the
gross domestic product are on the order of 50 to 60 percent,
well above the level of urbanization itself (28 percent in
2001). India’s overall demographic figures of rural-urban divide
do not reveal that a sizeable part of the country has reached
much higher levels of urbanization than the national average.
Economic growth is thus highly dependent on the fortunes of
urban areas and their ability to attract investment and increase
productivity. However, rapid urbanization and under-investment
in urban infrastructure have resulted in serious environmental
and health problems in India’s cities. Urban households across
India, particularly the poor and disenfranchised, continue to
have limited access to potable water, sanitation, drainage, and
solid waste disposal facilities.
Despite the contribution to
economic growth by the urban sector, successive five-year plans
of the Government of India (GOI) stressed rural development in
general and neglected balanced urban development. It was not
until the 8th Plan (1993–1997) that the role and
importance of the urban sector was explicitly recognized. Since
then, the context of urban development has changed significantly
in India, governed by the country’s focus on economic
liberalization and financial sector reform with a new emphasis
on decentralization. However, despite the government’s priority
on developing urban infrastructure and providing essential
municipal services to reduce urban poverty and prevent further
environmental degradation, the sector shows large inefficiencies
in service delivery, inadequate investments to expand service
coverage, and a lack of asset maintenance.
Notwithstanding urban India’s
problems, new opportunities have emerged. The momentum for urban
sector reform was provided in 1992 with the passage of the 74th
Constitution Amendment Act (CAA). The 74th CAA was
intended to create a democratic governance structure, with local
responsibilities being assumed and managed locally. The
amendment addressed the relationship between the state
governments and municipal governments, and laid the foundation
for a new approach to urban management and governance regarding
improved municipal service delivery.
Another key instrument governing
India’s urban sector reform is the country’s 10th
Five-Year Plan (2002–2007) prepared by the Planning Commission.
The 10th Plan proposes an eight percent growth rate
for the economy and focuses on four basic themes: high growth,
equitable growth, human development and reforms. With 80 percent
of plan allocation targeting social expenditure, the 10th
Plan aims to alleviate poverty through access to education,
health care, potable water, and sanitation. The 10th
Plan also focuses on good governance as a cross-cutting issue
and identifies the declining role of government in the provision
of services – with emphasis on developing private enterprise
participation in public service delivery and providing an
improved regulatory environment.
The GOI’s Ministry of Urban
Development and Poverty Alleviation (MOUDPA) is expected to
achieve the 10th Plan’s vision. MOUDPA’s agenda to
address growth, urban service delivery and the infrastructure
gap at the municipal level revolves around the management,
governance and creditworthiness of local governments. The Pooled
Finance Development Scheme (PFDS), the City Challenge Fund (CCF),
and the Urban Reforms Initiative Fund (URIF) are examples of
innovative central government funding initiatives to support the
GOI’s urban agenda.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Nation Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is the latest initiative of the
Government of India, which emphasizes, like never before the
Government’s commitment to address the urban sector agenda in
the country.
The National Common Minimum
Program of the Government of India attaches the highest priority
to the development and expansion of physical infrastructure as
one of the key inputs to overall economic development.
Appreciating the contribution and potential of urban areas to
the country’s economic growth, the Government of India has
devised a comprehensive program of urban renewal and expansion
of social housing in towns and cities, paying attention to the
need of slum dwellers – the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM). This seven-year program (FY 2005-06
to FY 2011-12) is also expected to ensure India’s commitment to
achieving the Millennium Development Goal – to facilitate
investments in the urban sector; and to strengthen the existing
policies in order to achieve these goals.
Launched on December 03, 2005 by
the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the
JNNURM Mission Statement is “… to encourage reforms and fast
track planned development of identified cities. Focus is to be
on efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery
mechanisms, community participation and accountability of ULBs
(Urban Local Bodies)/ Parastatal agencies towards citizens.”
The objectives of JNNURM, as
listed in the JNNURM toolkit, are “to ensure that the following
are achieved in the urban sector:
a.
Focused attention to integrated development of
infrastructure services in cities covered under the Mission;
b.
Establishment of linkages between asset-creation and
asset-management through a slew of reforms for long-term project
sustainability;.
c.
Ensuring adequate funds to meet the deficiencies in
urban infrastructure services;.
d.
Planned development of identified cities including peri-urban
areas, outgrowths and urban corridors leading to dispersed
urbanization;
e.
Scale-up delivery of civic amenities and provision of
utilities with emphasis on universal access to the urban poor;
f.
Special focus on urban renewal program for the old city
areas to reduce congestion; and
g.
Provision of basic services to the urban poor including
security of tenure at affordable prices, improved housing, water
supply and sanitation, and ensuring delivery of other existing
universal services of the government for education, health and
social security.”
The JNNURM provides both
incentive as well as support for undertaking reforms at State
and Cities level while striving to create the right framework
for participatory planning and development and enhancing
creditworthiness of urban local bodies so as to help them
leverage substantial grants to attract greater private
investments for sustainable urban development.
Sixty-three cities / urban
agglomerations (UA) have been identified for assistance under
the JNNURM. These are classified as:
a.
Category A: Cities / UA with population of 4
million and above as per 2001 census (7 cities)
b.
Category B: Cities / UA with population of 1
million and above as per 2001 census (28 cities)
c.
Category C: Other selected cities/ UA, including
state capitals and cities/ UA of religious/ historic and tourist
importance (28 cities)
Nanded city, by virtue of its
historic and cultural significance is an eligible city under
Category C, entitling it to 80 percent capital grant from
the Central Government and 10 percent grant from the State
Government as per JNNURM funding pattern.
Nanded city is home to a living
community and has a history that dates back to over 7
centuries. With a population of 4.3 lakh (2001 census) it is
the second largest city in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra
state. The city and its immediate region, famed for its
socio-cultural uniqueness and endowed with the river Godavari
and several places of religious monuments / significance, is
most popular for the Takhat Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchalnagar
Sahib Gurudwara (Sachkhand Gurudwara), one of the five
Takhats of the Sikh religion. It is in Nanded that Shri
Guru Gobind Singh, the last living Sikh Guru consecrated the
Holy Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of Sikhism on October 28,
1708, before departing for his heavenly abode (parlok gaman)
on October 30, 1708. The event and location where the
consecration took place is referred to as the Gur ta Gaddi
(Throne of the Guru). The city will host Gur ta Gaddi
Tercentenary Celebrations in October 2008, to commemorate the
300th year of the holy events of Sikhism, which are
expected to be attended by millions of devotees from all over
the country and the world.
The city administration – Nanded
Waghala City Municipal Corporation (NWCMC) – the District
Administration, the Sachkhand Gurudwara Board and the citizens
of Nanded are working in tandem to ensure a safe and memorable
hosting of event. They are viewing the event and associated
funding assistance from the State & Central Governments and
proposed funding assistance under the JNNURM as an opportunity
to be leveraged to kick start a transformation of the city into
a vibrant economic hub conserving and show casing its inherent
socio-cultural strengths, and ensuring sustainable overall
development.
As per the JNNURM strategy for
achieving its objectives, each eligible city intending to access
assistance under the Mission is expected to formulate a
comprehensive City Development Plan (CDP) indicating policies,
programs and strategies and financing plans, before seeking
funding for specific projects. The CDP is expected to be
formulated through a consultative process, articulating the
stakeholders’ perceptions and aspirations for their city and
drawing of strategies aimed at achieving them in a sustainable
and equitable manner.
The City Development Plan for
Nanded is formulated on the basis of a shared Vision of its
citizens, articulated through a series of stakeholder
consultations. The plan horizon is for a period of 25 years
from 2006 to 2025. The Nanded Waghala City Municipal
Corporation (NWCMC) and the District Administration had
commenced consultations on the city’ s needs and priorities way
back in 2003, initially in the context of the Gur ta Gaddi
Tercentenary celebrations and subsequently with a long-term
development objective. The procedure for formulation of the CDP
and identification of specific strategies and projects /
programs is an iterative one involving an incremental
consultation framework, beginning with a “state of the city”
assessment, consensus-building on city development issues and
priorities, articulating the City Vision 2025 and strategy
options to address the city’s Vision and identifying specific
projects and actions for implementation.
While the focus of the CDP is on
achieving the larger Vision 2025 through a broad Strategic and
Capital Investment Plan, it identifies specific project /
interventions / actions to be undertaken in the short term 2006
to 2011.
The projects / interventions /
actions identified for implementation in the short term are
further prioritized and phased in two phases, viz.
a.
Projects to be implemented pre-March 2008, in order to
service the Gur ta Gaddi Tercentenary Celebration requirements
b.
Projects to be implemented post-March 2008 by 2010-11
addressing other city-wide requirements and priorities
The CDP culminates in a financial
operating plan to assess the investment sustenance capacity of
the Municipal Corporation and test the impacts of the proposed
reform measures for revenue enhancement. | 
