The Centre is working on a new scheme of affordable housing for the economically weaker sections in urban areas. The plan will be different from the UPA government's flagship JNNURM, one of the two sub-missions which the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation is anchoring.

Apart from housing, the new scheme would also have a component to provide a clutch of services such as skill development, water supply and drainage system to the urban poor.

The irony was not lost on anyone when Meerut, part of the ancient Harappan settlement renowned for its sophisticated drainage systems, was promised a decent sewerage system under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) as late as 2005. The city seemed poised for a facelift after centuries of decrepit waste disposal infrastructure but, alas, that was not to be.

Seven years hence, even this modest project seems to have ground to a halt. With heaps of garbage lining its choked and dug-up roads, the project — expected to be commissioned by March 2012 —looks far from complete, adding to the city’s miseries.

To link Siruvani distribution network with Pilloor network

To overcome any difficulty it may have on the water supply front in Summer 2013, the Coimbatore Corporation has initiated a few measures. Disclosing the details, Commissioner T.K. Ponnusamy said that the civic body planned to link the Siruvani distribution network with the Pilloor distribution network at a few points in the city.

The ministry of urban transport is giving a major push to improve ridership in bus transport services across all major Indian cities by 2020.

Delhi and Pune are targeting a ridership of 80 per cent, while Kolkata and Bangaluru are targeting 90 per cent each. Unfortunately, poor management and operational inefficiencies are resulting in a plummeting of public transport usage. A RITES survey has highlighted that by 2030, 52 per cent of the Indian public across cities will have switched over to cars and two-wheelers. Already, bus ridership in Delhi has come down from 60 per cent in 2000 to 40 per cent in 2008.

Last week, a scathing report by the CAG on the performance of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was tabled in Parliament.

Jharkhand today sought assistance from a visiting team of World Bank and central officials for a pending sewerage and drainage project in Ranchi and unbundling of the state power utility.

Improved water and sanitation facilities, better housing, streamlined transportation systems and waste management are some of the services that smaller cities in the country can look forwards to in the next phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the flagship programme of the Union Urban Development Ministry.

The Ministry is keen to fund projects that will allow smaller cities that are fast moving towards urbanisation a chance to have and upgrade basic services.

The 75-crore solid waste management plant coming up at Jhiri, near Ratu, under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is expected to become operational by March-end.

Haryana is considering introducing a Mono rail between Faridabad and Gurgaon, which will further accelerate the pace of development in the area, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Sunday.

The modalities of the project will be worked out, Mr. Hooda told a rally here while announcing a slew of incentives for Faridabad, including construction of a road from Bata Chowk to B.K. Civil Hospital costing Rs.12 crore and rehabilitation of slum dwellers after a survey in February.