Who decides priority of projects?

COUNTER POINT, Times of India
TOP PRIORITY PROJECTS: WHO CALLS THE SHOTS?
An elevated road will soon connect Bangalore to Electronic City. According to one point of view, fast-track projects like these offer a skewed image of development and throw other concerns off balance. BT presents the debate


Ramesh Ramanathan, founder, Janaagraha:

I fundamentally disagree on a few issues about the proposed superstructure on Hosur Road. For example, on what grounds do certain projects get priority over others? Does the government have a clear policy that states these priorities?

The question of priorities comes because several wards in the city resemble sub-Saharan Africa because of poor roads and basic water and sanitation facilities. For the urban poor, the government has done precious little. Moreover, industry is pitching in with only one-third the cost for this project; where is the rest of the money coming from? Citizens need to know how the government proposes to raise the rest of the funds. Common Bangaloreans also need to know whether their say is valued. In December 2003, development work worth Rs 100 crore was identified through an elaborate exercise involving people at the grassroots level in 10 wards in the city. It was a six-month-long process of detailed deliberations and consultations. After that they identified the priorities for their own wards and knowing that funds are a problem, they also recommended ways to raise funds. The report was submitted last December to the government and the Bangalore City Corporation but no action has been taken on it yet. So, when a project like this gets approved, it sends a negative message to the people of this city: that opinion leaders can get things done and common citizens are irrelevant.

We know the system is broken and opinion leaders should not justify their actions by taking this path. Rather, they should use the influence they enjoy to improve the system to ensure that decision-making goes through a due process.


PGR Sindhia, minister for infrastructure, Karnataka Govt:

In Bangalore, several agencies handle developmental work, like the Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore City Corporation, the state government, the Public Works Department and the National Highways Authority of India. But finally we in the government have to set priorities for the city’s development. One of the areas that we feel needs to be addressed on priority are bottlenecks in several entry points to the city, like Hosur Road, Kanakapura Road and Bannerghatta Road. Work on this should have begun much earlier. If we don’t decongest some of these roads, it’ll cause enormous misery to commuters. On the question of funds for such projects, private agencies will contribute only a portion of it. The main source will be the government. I’m not aware of the particulars about this project. But we will take each project as it comes and decide on how to raise funds, whether to have a toll system or not. We are now thinking of building a parallel road so that commuting to Devanahalli International Airport will be hassle free.

There is no question of bowing to the pressure of opinion leaders. Leaders from the industry have complained but they are speaking of the reality. They have raised their voice when the situation has turned intolerable. Every industrialist and investor who has visited Bangalore has complained of traffic congestion. We in the government are only being sensitive to these requirements.

I agree that decisions should be taken after broad consultations. We are constituting a body within the government that will act as a coordinating agency for large projects like this.