In a boost for the Centre’s Gati Shakti scheme — a digital platform initiative to bring together 16 core sector ministries for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects — states are being onboarded for real-time project coordination and collective decision-making. The aim is to reduce the time taken to plan and award a project by at least a third. At a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state chief secretaries last month, all state governments are learnt to have agreed to support the project. “All key Central ministries were already part of it and now state governments have also given their consent to support it. The state chief secretaries, in a meeting with the Prime Minister, have all agreed to support and become part of this initiative,” said a top official at an infrastructure ministry. Following the meeting, the focus is on reducing the time taken to award a project — starting from preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) till the project is assigned. While the process usually takes about 16-18 months, it is estimated that it could take just five-six months under the Gati Shakti scheme if a coordinated, real-time approach is implemented. “A DPR and finalisation of alignment would take around six-seven months normally, and approvals for a railway overbridge (ROB) could take years under the present arrangement. Under Gati Shakti, these approvals should come down to three-four months,” said the official. Explaining the benefits of the Gati Shakti scheme, officials said the portal is designed to enable project implementers plan better, and since all stakeholders (various central ministries and now state governments too) are onboard, each will have access to the portal. Besides planning and awarding the project, issues related to construction and work on the project will also be streamlined. Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price Citing an example, the official said approvals for rail overbridges, which take upwards of two-four years, are set to be circumvented through the Gati Shakti approach. “The scheme helps us plan better. While deciding the alignment through a forest area, we can decide on taking the path that impacts the green area the least. We can also decide to ensure that the benefit from the road is available to the maximum number of people in the catchment zone,” said the official. It will help utilities plan better and ensure that infrastructure is planned in a way that it benefits maximum people or agencies, said another top official at an infrastructure-related ministry. Under the Gati Shakti scheme, the government intends to break departmental silos and bring in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects. It has launched a Rs 100 lakh crore plan for multi-modal connectivity. The promise of greater cohesion comes at a time when the Centre is focussed on stepping up public capital expenditure to invigorate the “virtuous cycle of investment” and thereby foster employment generation, with a 35 per cent surge in capex to Rs 7.50 lakh crore in FY23, with the expectation that this would crowd-in private investment. An amount of Rs 1 lakh crore has been provided in loans by the Centre to state governments to enable them to ramp up their capital expenditure.
