Sensible Political Decisions

The last week of July saw some sensible political decisions in the infrastructure arena.

There is no doubt that availability of land, that also in time, is one of the most cited reasons by the project promoters for the delayed off take of projects in India. The recent step taken by the Indian government to do away with the Cabinet Committee permission for transfer of government owned land for public-private-partnership (PPP) projects is expected to expedite the project implementation by a minimum of six months. As per the new guidelines land transfer from Central ministries to statutory bodies or public sector undertakings will now be outside the purview of Cabinet clearance.

Though Uttar Pradesh government has been identified as one of the erring states which plunged 19 Indian states into darkness by drawing more than allotted power, last week the government took some fruitful decisions also. First, the UP chief minister laid the foundation stone for the Rs 2,770 crore road project being set up by SEW Infrastructure.  The BOT project seeks to take up four laning work of the 206-km stretch between the Delhi–Saharanpur section. 

To top it the chief minister has agreed to inaugurate the six laned access-controlled Yamuna Expressway on 9 August 2012. The 165 km expressway was awarded and built during the BSP government regime. The expressway built at a cost of Rs 14,000 crore is expected to reduce the travel time between Agra and Greater Noida from four hours to around one-and-half hours.

Quote of the week

“The situation looks challenging, no doubt, but we simply have to get accustomed to dealing with these headwinds. What gives us hope is that the Indian consumer is aspiring for a better life,” Nitin Paranjpe, CEO & MD, Hindustan Uniliver Ltd.