Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

JNNURM has been so far the largest Urban initiative taken by the Government. It aimed to track development in 63 cities and was launched on 3rd January 2005. It was believed that by 2011 urban areas would contribute to the 65% GDP of the country, but this productivity was subjected to the condition of having potential infrastructure. Urban activities are directly proportional to its infrastructure, including sanitation, roads, telecommunications, solid waste management, and more. 

Various initiatives were undertaken to make the infrastructure of Urban areas developed and worth producing employment opportunities. The 74th Constitution Amendment act and model municipal law are examples of the same. 

Later on, in 2005, JNNURM was launched, which solely focused on developing urban areas and their development. It focused on providing the Urban Poor with the necessities and opportunities for wageful opportunities.

Objectives of JNNURM

The primary focus of JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) is to make cities economically efficient, productive, equitable, and responsible cities. For the same, it focuses on:

• Integrated development of services of infrastructures

• Ensuring a solid connection between assets created and their maintenance so that the project can run for longer durations sustainably.

• Ensuring that Urban Infrastructure services have a flow of investments to carry out the development.

• Ensuring that the development of cities takes place in a planned fashion, including the urban corridors and outgrowths.

• Areas lying inside the cities should be renewed or reconstructed as required.

• To ensure that Urban services reach even the poor of these areas and are not restricted to the richer or middle-class people.

Thrust Areas of JNNURM

The main areas focused upon under JNNURM for development purposes include:

• Setting up of desalination plants to ensure water supply 

• Sanitation

• Sewage treatment

• Solid Waste management consists of the wise leadership of hospital waste as well.

• Bus and truck terminals should be constructed and well maintained.

• Urban transport

• The Road network should be strong, and roads should be well maintained.

• Development of areas which preserve our heritage

• Preserving water bodies 

• Street lights should be kept, and new ones should be installed in areas that do not have street lights

• The Urban Poor should have provisions for basic facilities.

Megacities under JNNURM

7 megacities come under JNNURM and are working towards Urban development. They are:

1. Delhi

2. Ahmedabad

3. Banglore

4. Greater Mumbai

5. Chennai

6. Kolkata

7. Hyderabad

The other cities which have a population of millions and are a part of this scheme include:

• Patna

• Bhopal

• Ludhiana

• Jaipur

• Lucknow

• Faridabad

• Nashik

• Pune

• Varanasi

• Agra

• Madurai

• Surat

• Kanpur

• Nagpur

• Rajkot

• Allahabad

• Meerut

And many more. Conclusion: there are a total of 63+ cities working towards Urban development so that the Urban Poor can get the basic facilities and find employment opportunities.

Conclusion

The scheme launched had a stable aim that included an improved economy and providing the necessities to the Urban poor. These were termed to be Smart as they would be cities responsible enough to handle any crisis they face and cater to the needs of their people as a whole.

The outcomes that were visualised when the scheme came into play included: Universal access to the minimal services by everyone around the city, Financial stability of the town, a Clean city with a proper drainage system and solid waste management system, transparency in delivering the services, poor being able to find opportunities to earn for their livelihood and many more.

Though JNNURM achieved some of its goals, it was not wholly successful. The reasons for failure at various steps were lack of detailed plans for city development, lack of participation of the people, and many others. 

The mission lasted 7 years, and it began in 2005-06. If the evaluation results were to come out following what the Government had wished to achieve, the planning scheme would be extended, and the development of cities would continue to be pursued.