ULCRA repeal to net more central aid

MUMBAI: The repeal of Urban Land Ceiling (Regulation) Act (ULCRA) has brightened the prospect of major infrastructure projects in Maharashtra under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Mumbai and five other big cities are set to receive a much bigger pie in the central government corpus of Rs 50,000 crore earmarked for JNNURM. A top bureaucrat told ET that the state could even get more than its allocated share of Rs 5,555 crore for the 2005-12 phase of the ambitious urban makeover programme.

“The repeal of ULCRA is a big achievement in line with the reform agenda made mandatory by the JNNURM. It will not only help Maharashtra receive a continuous flow of central funds for the approved projects, but also greatly improve our chances of getting new projects sanctioned,” said urban development principal secretary TC Benjamin.

As a condition to get grants under JNNURM, the Centre had made the state government sign an agreement in October 2006 committing it to scrap ULCRA by March 31, 2008. The Centre had also warned the state that no new it could freeze pending allocations to sanctioned projects and approvals to new projects.

Mr Benjamin told ET that the immediate benefit for the state could be speedy approvals to 27 pending proposals. These include four mega projects in Mumbai metropolitan region. Two long-pending projects are Mithi river clean-up and protection at an estimated cost of Rs 1,600 crore and viability gap funding of Rs 650 crore for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor of Metro rail.

Besides, the state is expecting approval to a sewage treatment project for Mira-Bhayendar, a water distribution network and sewage treatment plan for Navi Mumbai, and a traffic improvement and management programme for Pune, Mr Benjamin told ET.

Under JNNURM, the state has submitted 88 proposals with a total outlay of Rs 23,908 crore of which 49 involving Rs 6,300 crore have been cleared by the Centre. For Mumbai, the state has submitted 13 proposals of which five involving Rs 2,279 crore have been cleared. The sanctioned proposals are — middle Vaitarana water supply project, Mumbai sewage disposal plan, Eastern Freeway project, elevated road between international airport and Western Express Highway, and an underground tunnel linking Malabar Hill to Marine Drive.

So far, the state has received Rs 712 crore as first instalment for the sanctioned projects. Mumbai’s 13 projects involve Rs 14,594 crore of which the Centre would bear a maximum 35% cost under JNNURM.