Twin cities lose out on central scheme
MANU AIYAPPA -TIMES NEWS NETWORK
9 Nov, 2006 0129hrs IST
HUBLI: The twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad have suffered yet another setback on the development front. The Union urban development ministry has rejected the state government's renewed proposal to include Hubli-Dharwad under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) stating that it will set a precedence for other states to make similar proposals.
Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy was informed about this when he met Union urban development minister Jaipal
Reddy in New Delhi on Tuesday. The only silver lining: Reddy has agreed to release more funds to the state to compensate for hold-up.
The development has obviously irked residents of the twin cities by and large since they had pinned hopes on AICC chief Sonia Gandhi. Addressing a public rally in Bangalore on September 3 to welcome former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah into the Congress fold, party president Sonia Gandhi had announced the inclusion of Hubli-Dharwad under
JNNURM describing it as a gift to the people of Karnataka.
"This is really bad news. The politicians are playing with sentiments of people for their political gain. Sonia Gandhi, holding such a responsible position, should have consulted the concerned minister before making
it public", an aggrieved resident Anil M Desai said.
Ruing on the setback, another resident Sunil Pujar sounded a bit caustic, "We, the people of north Karnataka, are used to such setbacks and it's high time we learnt a few lessons. We are doing well without being included in such schemes. Let us all move ahead as a cohesive unit. Let's work together for our cities. It is better we stop relying on our public representatives for the betterment of cities and towns."
Some Non-Resident Indians, who had launched an e-crusade to demand the inclusion of Hubli-Dharwad under JNNURM, were also disappointed. Some natives of Hubli-Dharwad residing overseas had also volunteered to launch a chain of protest by observing day-long fast to express their solidarity, to insist that the Union government include the twin-cities under JNNURM.
"Through our e-movement, we thought we would send a strong signal to the Union government. But it is really unfortunate that it has not happened", rued some NRIs. Their anguish is also made known on a group site. Under the JNNURM, the Centre had first selected Bangalore from Karnataka under the category of metros with 4 millionplus population. It had asked the state government to send proposals regarding heritage and other cities with 5-15 lakh population.
Former chief minister Dharam Singh sent a letter on November 29, 2005, requesting the Union urban ministry to include the twin cities under the scheme. But bowing to political pressure, Dharam Singh again wrote on December 7, 2005, to the Union government urging him to include Hubli-Dharwad and Gulbarga along with Mysore.
This virtually spoiled the show as the guidelines of the mission clearly stated that only one city should be recommended under the 'C' category. Singh overlooked them, and as a result, the steering committee decided to go by the initial list. This attracted widespread protest from various quarters.
As a damage control exercise, Sonia Gandhi, during her visit to Bangalore, assured the people of Karnataka that Hubli-Dharwad would be included under JNNRUM once again, reviving the hopes of residents here.
MANU AIYAPPA -TIMES NEWS NETWORK
9 Nov, 2006 0129hrs IST
HUBLI: The twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad have suffered yet another setback on the development front. The Union urban development ministry has rejected the state government's renewed proposal to include Hubli-Dharwad under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) stating that it will set a precedence for other states to make similar proposals.
Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy was informed about this when he met Union urban development minister Jaipal
Reddy in New Delhi on Tuesday. The only silver lining: Reddy has agreed to release more funds to the state to compensate for hold-up.
The development has obviously irked residents of the twin cities by and large since they had pinned hopes on AICC chief Sonia Gandhi. Addressing a public rally in Bangalore on September 3 to welcome former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah into the Congress fold, party president Sonia Gandhi had announced the inclusion of Hubli-Dharwad under
JNNURM describing it as a gift to the people of Karnataka.
"This is really bad news. The politicians are playing with sentiments of people for their political gain. Sonia Gandhi, holding such a responsible position, should have consulted the concerned minister before making
it public", an aggrieved resident Anil M Desai said.
Ruing on the setback, another resident Sunil Pujar sounded a bit caustic, "We, the people of north Karnataka, are used to such setbacks and it's high time we learnt a few lessons. We are doing well without being included in such schemes. Let us all move ahead as a cohesive unit. Let's work together for our cities. It is better we stop relying on our public representatives for the betterment of cities and towns."
Some Non-Resident Indians, who had launched an e-crusade to demand the inclusion of Hubli-Dharwad under JNNURM, were also disappointed. Some natives of Hubli-Dharwad residing overseas had also volunteered to launch a chain of protest by observing day-long fast to express their solidarity, to insist that the Union government include the twin-cities under JNNURM.
"Through our e-movement, we thought we would send a strong signal to the Union government. But it is really unfortunate that it has not happened", rued some NRIs. Their anguish is also made known on a group site. Under the JNNURM, the Centre had first selected Bangalore from Karnataka under the category of metros with 4 millionplus population. It had asked the state government to send proposals regarding heritage and other cities with 5-15 lakh population.
Former chief minister Dharam Singh sent a letter on November 29, 2005, requesting the Union urban ministry to include the twin cities under the scheme. But bowing to political pressure, Dharam Singh again wrote on December 7, 2005, to the Union government urging him to include Hubli-Dharwad and Gulbarga along with Mysore.
This virtually spoiled the show as the guidelines of the mission clearly stated that only one city should be recommended under the 'C' category. Singh overlooked them, and as a result, the steering committee decided to go by the initial list. This attracted widespread protest from various quarters.
As a damage control exercise, Sonia Gandhi, during her visit to Bangalore, assured the people of Karnataka that Hubli-Dharwad would be included under JNNRUM once again, reviving the hopes of residents here.
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