WB unhappy over civic bodies reforms

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government''s request for Rs 1,348 crore World Bank loan for augmenting civic amenities may get stuck in the face of civic bodies’ reluctance to initiate reforms and impose users'' charges.
Even after the state cabinet approved the users’ charges worth Rs 100 crore in May last, the civic bodies, have developed cold feet over its implementation.
After three months of the government decision, of the 100-odd civic bodies in Punjab, just 18 of them, including three municipal corporations, have so far notified the new users’ charges.
Officials admit that the civic bodies have been reluctant to go by the government decision as it may generate political unrest.
The World Bank officials, on the other hand, at a recent meeting with the state officials in New Delhi took stock of Punjab’s progress on reforms and expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s inability to get the civic bodies implement the reforms.
Significantly, the World Bank loan, expected by the next financial year, is linked to the reforms the state government ushers in the civic bodies department.
The government’s proposal for the loan under various heads like drinking water supply, sewerage system, and other civic amenities in 12 towns in Punjab was forwarded to the World Bank in June.
Of the Rs 1348 crore proposals, about Rs 100 crore would be earmarked for drinking water supply, Rs 452 crore for sewerage facilities, Rs 395 crore for installing sullage treatment plants and Rs 400 crore for solid waste management.
The 12 towns selected for the World Bank assistance are Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Batala, Hoshiarpur, Khanna, Malerkotla, Moga, Pathankot and Abohar. Officials said the criterion for selecting the towns has been the repaying capacity and financial viability of the civic bodies.
Besides speeding up the reforms, which included implementation of users’ charges, increased participation of private sector in providing civic amenities and making a provision for regulatory and legal framework, the World Bank has reportedly also desired that the system of urban governance by improved substantially.
The state government proposes to present a concept paper elaborating on all these concepts to the Centre and the World Bank.