Centre to fund pending JNNURM projects worth Rs 8000 crore: Venkaiah Naidu

HYDERABAD: The BJP-led NDA government is ready to take up pending projects worth Rs 8,000 crore which were initiated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( JNNURM) during the UPA tenure, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

"Under the JNNURM, there were some works pending during the previous government's term. The outgoing (UPA) government has left the burden of pending works (not completed before March 2014) on state governments," Naidu said.

"After I came, I reviewed it and found lot of works are pending and states do not have funds. Assets are lying idle. Now the government has decided to fund the JNNURM for the works which are at a stage of more than 50 per cent completion," the Union Urban Development Minister told reporters.

Earlier, he addressed BJP Telangana state-level meeting of municipal councillors, chairmen and activists to apprise them of the new schemes being undertaken by Centre.

"The preliminary estimates says almost Rs 8,000 crores worth of works got stuck. Whichever is completed more than 50 per cent we are going to fund them," Naidu said.

Explaining various schemes, he said the Centre and state government would sit together to chalk out the programme for completion of various housing schemes such as Rajiv Awas Yojana and Valmiki Ambedkar Awaas Yojna. He suggested that the state government should also take a proactive role in it.

Naidu said as many as 11 cities and towns of Telangana have been selected under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

The Centre would extend all possible help to states regardless of political affiliation, he said.