Govt clearances give stalled Infra projects worth Rs. 1.1 L Cr a new lease of life
With government clearances granted, many major infrastructure projects worth Rs. 1.1 lakh crore have finally got the green signal to resume operations. As many as 28 such projects were cleared by the Centre, which would give a boost to the sagging economy of the country. This comes at a time when domestic investors are shying away from getting involved in fresh investments.
This move by the government will liven the spirits of investors in many high investment projects they had embarked upon. They include 18 power projects which have a generation capacity of 15,500 MW, four highway projects with a total investment of Rs. 4,400 crore and a steel plant in Odisha worth Rs. 1,200 crore. Another incentive as far as these projects are concerned is the fuel supply agreements that the Coal Ministry has agreed to sign by August 31. Besides, construction clearances were awarded to three critical railway lines in states like Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Assam, which are not well connected. The investment outlay for this is more than Rs. 7,100 crore. Clearances have also been given to petroleum distillation units being set up by Bharat Petroleum, worth Rs. 1,419 crore.
Clearances were granted following intensive discussions that the Cabinet Secretary had with ministries on a project-wise basis. The discussions were held through a special project monitoring group that was set up by the Prime Minister in June. A special cell was set up for this purpose by the Finance Minister with the motive to restart some long delayed infrastructure projects with significant bank exposure, so as to create a favorable investor sentiment. This cell would look into 215 major projects worth Rs. 7 lakh crore, which form part of the total 341 delayed projects worth Rs. 10.5 lakh crore. Government officials confirmed that they have managed to garner clearances from various departments like the ministries of home affairs, railways and coal for 28 of the stalled projects.
A Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) was set up by the government headed by the Prime Minister with the intention of fast-tracking clearances for projects worth over Rs. 1,000 crore. Many of these projects have been pending for decades. However, the committee which came together once a month were not able to resolve ground-level issues that were responsible for private sector investments being infinately held up. The CCI’s efforts are supplemented by the special cell in instances where discussions between ministries would enable issues to be resolved amicably. The CCI’s involvement is notable in case a policy decision is required. The special cell also functions as the secretariat of the CCI so as to monitor the progress of pending projects that were earlier cleared by the CCI.
The governmental clearances for major infra projects could provide a boost to realty in states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Assam, which are starved of considerable realty development. It could provide an incentive for residential builders and investors to widen their scope of operations, thereby facilitating alternate and lucrative realty markets.
