Inter-ministerial panel headed by Gadkari to clear infra projects
With over 180 rail overbridges (RoB) awaiting approvals from the Railway Board, causing massive delays in road construction, the Government has decided to streamline and ease the processes and expedite clearances.
The infrastructure panel, which meets every month for removing hurdles hindering project pace, has decided to take up RoB clearances in their monthly meetings.
The Government had recently decided to form the infrastructure committee headed by Minister of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari to remove roadblocks causing delays in big ticket infrastructure projects.
"The road and railways Ministries will work in close cooperation to ensure that these projects get clearances at the earliest," said an official from MoRTH.
"This committee was set up to fast track big infrastructure and industrial projects that are held up for want of various Government approvals. The Government wants to push through infrastructure projects to quicken growth after two years of sub-5 per cent economic growth," he said.
The infrastructure committee comprising representatives from both roads and railways Ministries has decided to develop set templates for railway overbridges, as in the past differences between the two Ministries have stalled these projects. The Railways Minister also announced that they would waive off maintenance charges to expedite project completion.
"The maintenance charges, at 30 per cent of the cost of the bridge, are an upfront payment made to the railways. For PPP projects, this has been an extra cost since responsibility of maintenance is with the concessionaire. This will be a welcome move," said the official.
"The set templates would help the road developers struggling to get the designs of the RoBs get faster approvals," he said.
The Railway Ministry has also decided to develop a web portal to upload standard and basic design templates for such bridges so that companies can follow a uniform model.
"The final clearance call would lie with the committee. A process which took 2-3 years or more for completion, would now take anywhere from six to eight months to get a RoB cleared from the date of application for project," said the official.
The committee has decided that the rail Ministry will move the approvals for rail overbridges online. This move will ensure transparency in the process and one would track the movement online.
"The move will not just bring down project completion time but also help improve the viability of the projects. The delays in clearances during the term of the UPA Government saw a major slowdown in lending from banks in the highways sector," said the official.
The issue of safety clearances from the railways which at times take even two to three years to procure is being dealt with by the two Ministries.