Infrastructure Will Come Under One Umbrella

Infrastructure Will Come Under One Umbrella
The Times of India

Bangalore: Taking the assurances given to IT captains a step further, the government now talks of the need to have a co-ordination and regulatory authority for infrastructure.

The government suggests: Strengthen the infrastructure department and let it be the umbrella body to co-ordinate all infrastructure works. It will follow the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Industries and infrastructure minister P G R Sindhia spoke to The Times of India after inaugurating the first semester B.E. classes at PES College on Friday: “We are the first state to have an infrastructure department and we have decided to strengthen it.’’

“The World Bank is definitely right in observing that agencies are working as sole islands. At present, there are too many administrative agencies involved, all working independently. For instance, roads are under various agencies like Bangalore City Corporation, public works department... we need to bring them under one umbrella.’’

So where does that leave the 15-day-old Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Authority? “There will be no overlapping as BMRA will allocate work and the infrastructure department will manage the co-ordination.’’

Infrastructure secretary Vinay Kumar said: “The government has said there is an additional need for higher inter-departmental co-ordination and hand-holding without which we can’t reduce the time taken in planning and implementing infrastructure projects. The basic framework will be PPP model.’’

Acknowledging that the infrastructure department has been drawn into a lot of co-ordination work, he said: “As private enterprises have said they are ready to help in terms of know-how, funding and others, we need to work out various arrangements.’’

The infrastructure department currently handles Metro Rail, the international airport and other long-term projects.