The Centre, on Monday, criticised the slow pace of reforms in urban project implementation in States and said it would not release further installments for projects financed under the ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) scheme, until reform milestones are met in totality.

New Delhi: As the capital gets ready for the Commonwealth Games, the state government has tied its monetary hopes to the Union Budget 2010-11, which will be announced in Parliament on Friday. The state is eyeing the central kitty, including grants under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, hoping for a handout of over Rs 2,000 crore which will help deliver a successful Games.

The high tides provided by the Rs 380-crore worth of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission funds will finally see the state-of-the-art Signature Bridge project sail through.

The Draft Urban Development Policy for Karnataka has suggested the establishment of the Karnataka Urban Renewal Mission to focus on infrastructure development in small and medium cities.

As part of its beautification drive in view of the Commonwealth Games 2010, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will develop a Commonwealth Park on Africa Avenue spreading on 2.5 acres of land.

Shibu B S

KOCHI: Jointly funded by the Centre and the state to give governance and infrastructure development in urban cities a renewed thrust, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects are proving to be a blessing for Kochi.

In the 1850s, the Thames in London was so polluted and stinking that the Parliament had to be shifted away from the river, says Robert Oates, director of the Thames River Restoration Trust.

A century and half on, the river is much cleaner and Britain, he says, is now investing in cleaning a tributary of the Thames, the Lee, ahead of the London Olympics in 2012.

A pledge to start a renewed fight for development of Jharia under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was taken at a joint meeting of Jharia Coalfield Bachao Samiti, Jharia Chamber of Commerce and Dhanbad Bar Association yesterday.

The State Government has approved funds amounting to more than Rs 100 crore for construction of sewage treatment plant and related facilities in Dehradun.

The Union urban development ministry has approved a major interceptor sewer project for the Yamuna under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Rs 1,358 crore interceptor project, which is the largest ever under JNNURM for Delhi, aims to trap untreated sewer in Najafgarh and Shahadra drains.