States that are slow in carrying out urban reforms could have their Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewal mission (JNNURM) funds slashed, the deputy chairman of the planning commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Friday.  

He said the performance of the states receiving grants under the JNNURM was not encouraging and future allocation of funds would be strictly based on performance of the states on the reforms side.

“We have not empowered urban local bodies the way we should have. It is worrisome because the reforms depend on the state governments and centre can only provide limited help,” said Ahluwalia at the national conference on JNNURM in the capital.

“We have isolated cases of excellent urban reforms in some cities of the country. There are cities with 24X7 water supplies and here in Delhi, 70 percent of untreated water goes into the Yamuna,”  he added.

Emphasing the need for planning in urban development, he said 'we should plan for next 20 years'.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the investment required for providing basic amenities could not come through central government support only.

“State governments along with urban local bodies should not only prepare themselves to meet growing demand in this respect but also exhibit political will to involve private sector in a big way,” he said.

Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy said that state governments had to speed up reforms proposed under JNNRUM, as it would improve efficiency of local bodies and their resources.