Urban renewal, with a focus on inclusive development of urban centres, is one of the thrust areas in the National Common Minimum Programme and accordingly the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was launched. This paper analyses the present urban development policies with a focus on coverage at the state and size-class levels, the extent of equity and effectiveness of the programme. It works out the interdependencies of infrastructural investment in the public sector with those of socio-economic indicators. The study shows that only 58% of the urban population has been covered under jnnurm, the coverage being high in the developed states and metropolitan cities. Of the 5,161 towns/cities, 4,207 are yet to be covered. An analysis of the funding pattern clearly brings out the big city bias. The phenomenon of large-scale underutilisation of the funds and inability of the smaller urban local bodies to prepare detailed project reports and generate matching resources can be addressed by making special provisions for unconditional general grants, especially those in the economically backward states. This will certainly help in making the growth process more inclusive, where the urban poor would be partners in the developmental process.
