At least half of the total 104 projects yet to be completed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in the country are expected to miss the extended deadline of March 2014 for various reasons, the most important being land disputes and fund issues.
In a recent meeting with the Urban Development Ministry, majority of the States accepted that they would not be able to complete many projects in their region and that they are likely to spill over beyond March 2014.
They have sought immediate release of funds as well as more time to allow them to complete the projects.
Most of them pertain to the solid waste management, sewerage and storm drain system besides urban transport approved under the JNNURM which was launched in 2005 with an initial target for completion in next seven years.
A total 560 projects worth `62,066 crores have been approved till then.
In March 2012, the deadline was extended by two years as most of the States were yet to complete the projects. However, this has not helped. Majority of them are marred with delay and huge cost overruns.
In fact, some of the States like West Bengal and Kerala have decided to drop at least two projects each as no work was initiated because of fund shortage or legal hurdles.
Moreover, States like Goa with two projects, Karnataka (4), Puducherry (1,) Uttarakhand (3), Punjab (3), Himachal Pradesh (4), Jharkhand (3) Assam (1) and Tamil Nadu (1) have already made it clear that none of their projects will be completed by the target date of
March 2014.