The Ministry of Urban Development in its recently prepared report claimed that there was lack of a comprehensive storm drainage system for Jammu city and the existing system faces severe flooding problem during the monsoon. The report further claimed that due to dumping of solid waste and inflow of household sullage, storm water drains get blocked and the system is inefficient. The ministry stressed on the need for a complete planning and development of the comprehensive drainage system for Jammu. “Cost escalation is the key challenge faced by the JMC in implementing the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)-funded projects. There is no comprehensive policy on providing basic services to all urban poor as of now. There is no separate department within the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) that deals with the issues of the urban poor,” the Central ministry report claimed. The report added that the state authorities had not prepared any policy on public participation of the urban poor in various rehabilitation programmes. In another major finding, the report stated that encroachments on streets by shop owners and vendors further reduced the width of roads of Jammu city. It added that absence of road expansion and adequate parking lots was leading to haphazard parking on the streets and causing traffic congestion. “Almost 30 per cent of the roads are not covered with lighting. The Electricity Department is responsible for installation, replacement, repairs, and operation and maintenance of streetlights in the city. There are 30,351 streetlights in working condition in Jammu, spaced at an average distance of 91 m. The streetlights mainly comprise sodium lamps. As per the data available, the total drainage length in the city is 3,028 km. The open drains are 90 per cent, while the closed are 10 per cent. Total 93.75 km of the drains was built by the JMC with a total investment of Rs 1,406.52 lakh out of its own sources. Further, Jammu city comprises 3,982 km of roads. Of the total number of roads under the coverage of the JMC, 57.5 per cent are surfaced, while 42.5 per cent are kutcha roads. Total 986.32 km of roads was built by the JMC with a total investment of Rs 9.241.55 lakh out of its own sources.