Call to set up revolving fund for heritage towns

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. The Union Urban Development Minister, Mr. Jagmohan, said today that his Ministry has asked the Planning Commission to provide Rs.200 crores for setting up a revolving fund for rejuvenating the culturally significant towns and cities in the country.

Sounding optimistic, Mr. Jagmohan, after a meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry,told presspersons that he has taken up the matter with the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr. K. C. Pant, on two occasions in the recent past and was happy that his response was positive and encouraging.

Asserting that the Government was laying special emphasis on developing and rejuvenating these cities because they were repositories of cultural wealth of the nation, he said efforts were therefore on to turn them into not only vibrant centres of civic life but also economic and social advancement and prosperity.

Apart from Varanasi, Mathura and Vrindaban in Uttar Pradesh, other cities being considered for inclusion in the select list of towns for their all round development are Tiruchi and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Indore and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Hardwar in Uttaranchal, he said adding that he had already visited Madurai, Tiruchi, Indore, Ujjain and Hyderabad in this connection.

Referring to the special drive against the land and building mafia in the capital, he said several cases of blatant violations in posh colonies had been handed over to

CBI which conducted raids at 38 places and lodged 22 FIRs.

Similarly raids, he said, were also conducted in the premises of seven DDA officials who have been suspended. Over 600 unauthorised constructions had been demolished, he said however adding that restaurants would be permitted in green areas of Delhi.

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