Tag: infrastructure

Modi govt again considering merging rail, roads, aviation, shipping into transport ministry

Source: theprint.in

New Delhi: The Modi government, in its second tenure, is once again considering having a unified transport ministry through combining the road, railways, civil aviation and shipping ministries, officials familiar with the matter told ThePrint.

A top panel of secretaries, constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recommend transformative ideas for the infrastructure sector, discussed the unified transport ministry idea with the cabinet secretary last month.

“We have recommended that the way forward is a unified transport ministry to provide integrated multi-modal solutions,” one senior official who did not want to be named said.

The secretarial panel is likely to make a presentation before the Prime Minister soon. “A final call on whether to go ahead with the recommendation will be taken only after the meeting with the PM,” the official added.

An omnibus transport ministry is not a new concept. Countries such as China already have it — the country’s Ministry of Transport is mandated to make regulations for road, railways, water and air transportation. Cities like New York and London have a single body to govern public transport.

‘Need for co-ordinated approach’

The panel on infrastructure, headed by aviation secretary P.S. Khairola, has also recommended that the role of the existing aviation regulator — Airports Economic Regulatory Authority — could be expanded to cover the entire transport sector.

As of now, close to half-a-dozen central ministries, including roads, railways, housing, civil aviation and shipping cater to the transport sector. Almost all of them work in isolation, with minimal or no coordination with each other.

“The idea is to have some kind of coordinated planning while setting up a road, railway line or airport,” said a road ministry official privy to the matter. “Presently, all the sectors are working in silos. A coordinated approach will not only improve efficiency but will also go a long way in cutting costs.”

The official added that it is one of the recommendations made by the group of secretaries on infrastructure. “Nothing has been decided on what will be its structure. Whether it will be an omnibus ministry of transport or an integrated transport planning body that will decide on projects and investment to be made in the sector.”

Citing an example, another senior official working in one of the infrastructure ministries said, “Suppose an airport is being planned in a remote area. An integrated approach could help in planning a rail or road linkage to connect to the airport.”

Not the first time

This, however, isn’t the first time that an ‘omnibus transport ministry’ idea has come up.

In 2014, the National Transport Development Policy Committee, chaired by former RBI governor Rakesh Mohan, had in its report recommended setting up a single unified transport ministry.

The report batted for a unified ministry of transport at the Centre with a similar merger of transport functions at the state level.

But not much came of it.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has in the past five years spoken about the need to have an integrated, multimodal transport planning body to increase efficiency, in numerous public fora.

In fact, in its first term, the government had set up an infrastructure committee headed by Gadkari to address bottlenecks that were stalling big-ticket infrastructure projects. Besides Gadkari, ministers from the railways, shipping, petroleum among others were part of the committee.

The idea to have an omnibus transport ministry elicits a strong response from transport sector experts. While some experts feel that it’s about time that India too has a unified transport ministry, many think that it is “unimplementable”.

Former Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar said that this kind of a merger is not a good idea. “It will be difficult to implement,” Kumar said. “Take for instance railways. It’s a huge setup and demands a high degree of specialisation and resources. The entire machinery is well oiled. I don’t think unification is required. It will only add to the red tape.”

However, a road ministry official who did not want to be named said that the integration being proposed will not be at the “operational” level but at the level of planning and investment.

“We have limited resources. Private investment is dwindling,” he said. “In a situation like this, an integrated approach will go a long way in planning and using the available resources judiciously.”

Road projects to get pace ahead of Assembly poll

Source: dailypioneer.com

The Raghubar Das Government ahead of year-end Assembly election is to focus on infrastructure improvement, especially road connectivity. The State Road Construction Department has set a 120 day deadline with a target to construct 400 km roads and 15 bridges in this duration. As the construction of roads and bridges will require technical expertise, the Road Construction Department is to recruit 969 engineers on the rank of assistant engineers and junior engineers in the coming days.

Department secretary KK Soan said, “The department, to fill up the vacancies of engineers, has decided to make appointment of 969 engineers. 732 posts of assistant engineers and 237 posts of junior engineers will be filled. The appointment process will be completed within two-three months.”

He added, “While the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) will carry out the appointment process of assistant engineers, the junior engineers will be appointed by Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).”

The appointed engineers will be placed at various projects of road construction department.

Some of the major road projects which the department has a target to complete within 120 days includes—Hazaribag-Barkagoan-Tandwa-Khelari-Bijupara Road (115.65km), Chhattarpur-Japla road (115.65km), Patratu-Hendegir-Mcluskiganj (45km), Vikas-booth More-Kantatoli to Rampur road (25.35km), Ghaghra-Netarhat road (54 km), Chanho (on NG 75)-Dighia (on MDR-001)-Purnapani (on NH-23)-Lapung (on MDR-030 road) among others.

Apart from these roads, there are around 41 other roads in which construction will begin or will be completed within the stipulated time frame.

Sources said that the Road Construction department has been asked by Government to speed up the construction work ahead of year-end Assembly election.  Sources said that as improvement and strengthening of road infrastructure has been the top priority of Raghubar’s Government, the Road Construction department has been asked complete or start work on all major road projects.

According to Road Construction department sources, the department has earmarked Rs 4,700 crore budgetary provision in the financial year 2019-20. Out of this, the department expenditure till July 2019 is Rs 1,904.34 crore which is nearly 40.51 per cent of the total allocation in the financial year.

As per the total allocation of the budget, the physical target for construction of roads is 1350 km while bridges are 40. Against the physical target, around 290 km road has been constructed at the same six bridges has been constructed.

A senior road construction department official requesting anonymity said, “As per target set by department, the construction work on major road projects will gain momentum. We have been asked to complete the construction work on new projects or to complete the pending projects.”

AES outbreak puts focus on ailing healthcare infrastructure in Bihar

Source: livemint.com

NEW DELHI: The rising death toll of children suffering from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district not only points to a health crisis, but also the crippling healthcare infrastructure in the state.

According to the latest data available with the ministry of health and family welfare, about 79.5% of the 1,719 villages in Muzaffarpur district do not have a public healthcare facility. There are only 630 public healthcare facilities in Muzaffarpur, the data reveals.

“What can easily be managed at a primary health centre level, is reaching Muzaffarpur at a critical stage causing deaths. Since there is no primary health infrastructure nearby and no health experts to tell these families the preventive measures, the problem arises,” said a senior health ministry official, requesting anonymity.

Experts also said that in view of the children’s deaths and the number of new cases being reported every day, the district level infrastructure is about to collapse.

“Encephalitis cases have always been witnessed in areas which are economically disadvantaged and have rudimentary health infrastructure at the primary care level. Health infrastructure is a major issue given the high mortality in Bihar. The easy solution to this disease is balanced diet in each meal,” the official said.

“Even if children show early signs, regular glucose consumption can solve the problem. The early warning signals that should be provided to villagers also seem to be absent,” he added.

The official said malnutrition, compounded by heat and humidity, unusually high this year, is the major cause for the high death toll.

According to the census of 2011, Bihar is the third most populous state in India, with around 40% of its population below the poverty line. The major health and demographic indicators of the state, such as infant mortality rate, maternal mortality ratio, and total fertility rate, are substantially higher than the all-India average, and reflect the poor health status of the people. The state has a shortage of 1,210 sub-centres, 131 primary health centres (PHCs), and 389 community health centres (CHCs).

So far, 167 children have died in Bihar, with Muzaffarpur recording 117 deaths. Other districts include Vaishali (19), Motihari (12), Begusarai (8), Samastipur (8), and one each in Arrah, Sheohar and Purnia.

“Blame it on the scarcity of health facilities or unawareness among masses, patients from almost all the villages in Muzaffarpur are coming to us in critical stages, which is increasing the death toll. Private hospitals are unable to handle the pressure,” said Sunil Shahi, medical superintendent, Sri Krishna Medical College, Muzaffarpur, which is handling a majority of the cases.

Interestingly, Muzaffarpur city is part of the centre’s smart cities’ list. According to a recent report by the Smart Cities Mission of Housing and Urban affairs, the doctor-patient ratio at Muzaffarpur is as low as 80:100,000 patients. The report said there are four large hospitals in the city, 46 nursing homes and 175 medicine shops. The city provides some access to healthcare for its residents, but healthcare facilities are “overburdened and far from many residents”.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India 2018 report said improved healthcare facilities could not be provided because of project delays. “Completion of 75 CHCs was delayed by one to 33 months. Further, 11 CHCs was incomplete even after the delay of one to 36 months, due to non-availability of dispute-free land and slow execution of work. Consequently, there was a delay in the completion of 86 CHCs, which delayed the intended objective of providing improved healthcare facilities.”

Govt lures investors for infrastructure projects

Source: dailypioneer.com

Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company Limited (JUIDCO) proposed infrastructure development projects worth Rs. 1850 crore to private investors under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy framework in a summit held in a hotel here on Monday. Under the proposed plan, ISBT, bus stations, and market complexes are to be built in three important cities – Ranchi, Dhanbad, and Jamshedpur. Investors from Ranchi and Gujarat were present in the summit.

A total of 5 bus terminal projects are to be built in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, and Dhanbad. Ranchi is to get a new bus station in Dubaliya, and the Khadgarha bus stand will be renovated under the new proposal. Two new bus terminals will be constructed in Dhanbad, and one in Jamshedpur. K Venkatesh Kumar, Vice President, Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) Limited (iDeCK) outlined the projects, the total cost of which is estimated to be around Rs. 250 crores.

Four market complexes in Jamshedpur are also to be revamped under the proposed plan. Varsha Pandey from IIDC Limited presented a background to the dilapidated condition of the old market complexes in main areas of the city, like Sakchi, Bistupur, and Golmuri. A phase-wise development of the markets was proposed, keeping in mind the amount of business to be affected by the project.

Ameet Kumar, Director of State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) highlighted the salient features of PPP policy to attract the investors present at the summit. He outlined the obligations of the government under a PPP contract. “The government will facilitate the developer in obtaining necessary project related approvals and clearances along with ensuring availability of project site for development,” he said. He remarked that State Government is already successful in PPP in various sectors.

Urban Development and Housing Development Minister C.P Singh, who was the Chief Guest at the event, spoke about the necessity to attract private investment by guaranteeing returns to the investors. “The investor is not a social worker; they demand returns for their investment. The government should approach the investors accordingly, so that everybody benefits from the deal. Urban development is the responsibility of the government. I hope this summit produces results,” he said. He also cited the example of the bus terminals constructed under PPP in Baroda, Gujarat, and hoped the same feat could be reproduced here.

Urban Development and Housing Development Secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh stressed on the importance of securing private investment in the urban development sector. “We have implemented many policies to attract private investment, but this meet is equally important. All doubts and suggestions are welcome. We’ll be preparing a draft investment policy after this meet. Upon its approval from the ministry, we will streamline the ISBT plans before October. These new bus terminals will be planned with on the lines of our airports, and with a vision of the coming 40 years,” he said.

However, many investors expressed concerns regarding the financial viability of the projects, which was not outlined properly in the various presentations. Issues of bankability were also raised by investors. Urban Development and Housing Development Secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh assured the investors that the finance aspect of the projects will be discussed thoroughly with various banks’ representatives at a later date.