Our problem lies in getting the numerous clearances and getting the projects off the ground within reasonable time
The bouquet of government decisions on Thursday, ranging from setting up a committee to be headed by the Prime Minister to clear pending mega-projects to lowering the base price of spectrum to make the auction of bandwidth more attractive to the clearing of the watered-down amendment to the land acquisition bill, is encouraging and excellent on the face of it.
It provides a window of hope that things may move from here on.
But as finance minister P. Chidambaram said a few days ago, our problem lies in getting the numerous clearances and getting the projects off the ground within reasonable time. He has hit the nail on the head. If you use this as a dipstick, then the government’s adrenaline rush will need continuous pumping if decisions are to be translated into action.
Take the case of the proposed Cabinet Committee on Investment to clear pending projects above `1,000 crore. There has already been for several months a committee in the PMO to fast-track clearance of delayed power projects. One does not know the progress, if any, as NTPC alone has projects of 11,000 MW still stuck.
Apart from the land issue, which is going to be contentious though the bill could be passed in Parliament, the CCI and the decision on spectrum could provide the much-needed push to quicken growth. The cellular operators’ association, however, wants the base price lowered further.
In the case of land acquisition, the bill has been renamed with emphasis on fair compensation, rehabilitation and transparency. It is unfortunate that compensation of six per cent over the market price for the landowner, suggested by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has been diluted to four per cent. Yet businessmen are grumbling. It is well known that market price is always understated to avoid stamp duty and there has been a demand for price to be related to the price the government announces for stamp duty, among other things.
The central issue is implementation, accountability and monitoring. It has been suggested repeatedly that the government should give a weekly report, for instance on the work of the CCI. Unless this is done, it will go the way of all other committees. The stakes are very high: in just 100 delayed projects more than `100,00 crore in investment is involved. Imagine the jobs that would be created and the productivity available if they get off the ground.
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