Political logjam affects development projects

So far OK but long political logjam may affect Karnataka projects
Johnson T A
Posted online: Monday, October 08, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email

BANGALORE, OCTOBER 7: While the political crisis in Karnataka may not immediately impact development projects in Bangalore or elsewhere, corporate leaders and bureaucrats are warning that a continued state of limbo in the government can start showing up.

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With major infrastructure projects like the Bangalore Metro, an elevated expressway to the IT hub at Electronic City and the new international airport in advanced stages of independence from ministerial decision-making, it’s unlikely that these projects will be be delayed on account of the political logjam.

“Only around 0.1 per cent of overall activity in the government will be affected. All powers in government are delegated and only certain rule-related things would not be notified. At present, there are few subjects that are ripe for being placed before the Cabinet,” a senior official in the state Finance department told The Indian Express.

“Since October 3 (the date for the transfer of power that didn’t take place) had been coming for a long time, most departments completed necessary paperwork on pressing issues. Of course, if there is no solution beyond three weeks, then a crisis situation could slowly emerge,” the official said.

“Since the bureaucracy basically runs the show in Karnataka, projects will not be affected. There should, however, be a resolution of the crisis soon. It is not good to have the government in limbo for too long,” said Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

“The situation must get settled at the earliest since it is not good for anyone in the long term. The projects that have already started are not likely to be affected by the political crisis, but those that need a decision will,” said NASSCOM president-elect Som Mittal.

T V Mohandas Pai, Infosys board member, said: “The crisis will definitely impact government decision-making but projects like the elevated highway to the Electronic City, being a Central government project, will not be affected.” An official in the state infrastructure department that is overseeing the international airport project said “there is a certain level of continuity in major projects taken up a while ago due to the delegation of power in the government”.

The infrastructure department authorities held their scheduled monthly meeting with the Chief Secretary yesterday on improvement of roads in Bangalore.

“It is only the new projects that could be affected. The government has pushed ahead key new projects, knowing the crisis ahead,” the official said.

In what was possibly the last cabinet meeting of the JD(S)-BJP coalition on October 5, decisions were taken by JDS ministers — in the absence of BJP ministers, to authorise government officers to come up with a MoU with the SKIL Infrastructure Company to create an SEZ in the Nandagudi area outside Bangalore. The meeting also cleared acquisition of government land for an SEZ project in Mangalore and authorised a private company for preparation of a detailed project report for a monorail project in Bangalore.

On October 1, the cabinet had cleared the allocation of a township project to DLF in the Bidadi area in Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s constituency.