Users should be ready to pay for public services: FM

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said there was an urgent need to tap funding from private sector as the government’s resources were limited. He said users of public services had to be prepared to pay for services through relevant levies and user charges.

At a function on the fifth anniversary of the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the finance minister stressed state governments and cities should provide enabling environment for the private sector to work on public private partnership projects.

“There will always be limits on budgetary support that can be committed to any programme. The situation challenges us to mobilise resources from private sector and from within local bodies. The need for facilitation of private sector funds through improved and transparent governance systems cannot be stressed enough. At the same time, public service users have to be prepared to pay for services through relevant levies and user charges,” he said.

So far, the centre has provided Rs 11,859 crore for 527 projects under JNNRUM. As the urban development minister asked for more funds for JNNURM, Mukherjee said a major challenge was to bring about a change in the mindset of those who were running the institutions of urban governance and the users of urban services.