March '17 target for JNNURM projects

Nashik: Chief secretary of the state Swadhin Kshatriya on Tuesday gave an ultimatum to all municipal corporations across Maharashtra to complete pending projects approved under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) by March 2017 when the scheme expires.
This is the second time the government has extended the deadline for completion of projects under the scheme.
The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) began constructing houses for the urban poor in 2007-08 under the scheme but the project remains incomplete even today.
The chief secretary conducted a video conference on Tuesday to inform the civic bodies about the extension in the deadline for completion of the project.
The NMC has to complete the construction of 3,260 housing units even as there are 60 more units whose construction has not yet begun. The deadline for completing the projects was 2012, which was extended to 2014. Later on, the Modi government granted another extension till 2017 after which the scheme will lapse and municipal corporations will have to manage on their own to build the houses.
"We were instructed by the chief secretary to complete the project by March 2017. If the projects are not completed on time, the corporations will have to manage on their own. The government will be implementing 'housing for all' scheme in place of JNNURM," said additional municipal commissioner Jeevan Sonawane, who was present on behalf of the NMC for the conference.
Talking about the slum dwellers' demands for the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) and Ramai Yojana, Sonawane said that these schemes had not taken off and hence their demands cannot be fulfilled, adding that they could however be accommodated in the new housing scheme.
Out of the 140 housing units in Bhimwadi, construction of 60 units has not yet started due to some issues related to space, he added.
The NMC had proposed 16,000 housing units for the urban poor to the government but had to later reduce the number to 11,200 due to lack of beneficiaries. The figure was further reduced to 7,460.
"After the houses are constructed, we will be forming a society and then handing over the houses to the beneficiaries by a draw of lots. The ground floor will be handed over to the handicapped," said an official of the city public works department, adding that the administration will also have to begin constructing the pending 60 units in the scheme and complete them by March next year.