Local bodies to get their slice of Jnnurm pie

The Planning Commission member Arun Maira has said that the next phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which is slated to be launched next year, will follow a 'bottom-up' design of development with the Centre involving local bodies in urban planning. Maira said this in Hyderabad on the sidelines of 6th EuroIndia Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, The Euro India Centre and European Business and Technology Center. India needs much more local planning of cities and towns as the local people know best what is required for them, he said. Urbanisation is not limited to just big cities, but the government is also shifting its attention towards smaller towns and villages, he stated. He pointed out that training is a very crucial aspect as local bodies generally do not have the skills required for urban planning due to which the initial plans submitted by engineers get rejected and have to be revised many times before the final approval.