Utmost importance to public interest in PPP models needed: CM

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Friday said the interest of the public should be kept in mind while structuring a public-private partnership (PPP) model for any project.He said projects based on PPP model could play a vital role in fighting challenges of development by striking a balance between public and private interest.

The Chief Minister said that the training should help officials in creating a PPP model best suited for Chhattisgarh.He was speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day Management Development Programme (MDP) based training programme which began at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad on project management and PPP for senior officials of Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand, IIM Professor Sebastian Morris, Ajay Pandey and other participating officials were present at the function.

He said Chhattisgarh has ample resources but progress in basic areas such as health, infrastructure and education are below national average.

The State government cannot not solely depend on its budget and there is a need to invite industrialists to participate in the process of development, Dhand said.

He said a private firm or an investor will invest in government projects only if there is faith in government’s policies, resources and project and the assurance of getting the benefit.Dhand said that success of PPP based project depends on the benefit it gives to the private firm /State. The CM said that the training will be helpful for Chhattisgarh as those attending training were mostly youths and will help in framing and shaping the development projects of Chhattisgarh in future.

He further maintained that Chhattisgarh wants to work in PPP model in the fields of infrastructure, health, railways, education and irrigation and this training would help the officials in finding new ways of ensuring development.Mentioning the Rowghat rail project, he said a rail project in any backward area accelerates the development process by 18 per cent.

He said that the Rowghat project will ensure development of Bastar region and PPP model in future will also ensure development of six backward districts of Surguja.Dhand said it is the duty of an administrative official to ensure that resources available in the State are best utilised for development of backward regions of the State. He said that the State’s budget has increased from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 70,000 crore after the formation of the State but the challenges have  also increased accordingly.

Dhand said that with the help of PPP model, the officials need to ensure that tribal-dominated regions get best quality education and health facilities.

Addressing the gathering, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Aman Kumar Singh said that PPP is not a new concept and it had been used in B.C. era.

He said that Suez Canal built in 1853 is an excellent example of PPP model.

Singh said that 10 per cent of GDP should be invested in infrastructure development to ensure development of Chhattisgarh and the country. He said development cannot not depend solely on government budgets and there will be a need for private partnership where the interest of public and private firms are equally ensured.

A total of 35 senior officials participated in the programme. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raman Singh in Ahmedabad said that the problem of Naxalism is putting a huge dent into the GDP of Chhattisgarh as the government has to spend huge amount of money towards rebuilding infrastructure and inducting police personnel.

 "Just like Gujarat, me and my team will visit other States to study their development model and apply them in our State. In Gujarat, I am keen to know more about Riverfront project, GIFT city, river linking project and power reforms. It will help us to apply the concepts at our end," he said.

"We are also planning to introduce PPP model in other sectors, such as health, education, public distribution system and procurement of Agricultural commodities. We want IIM-A to teach us about how we can bring down the losses and make our projects viable," Singh said.