Projects at risk

Earlier called Taj Expressway,the project,conceptualised by the Mayawati government in 2001,was put on hold during the Mulayam regime from 2003-07.

Written by Maulshree Seth

Lucknow | March 15, 2012 03:28 AM IST

5 min read

A recent FICCI study counted UP among the top five states in taking up public-private partnerships. With a regime change now,several big PPP projects involving over Rs 80,000 cr investment in the next five years could be put on hold given the tendency of new govts to re-examine the decisions of their predecessors. Besides,the SPs promise to give farmers six times the circle rate for their land is set to jack up the costs of these projects. MAULSHREE SETH lists the projects whose fate hangs in balance

Yamuna Expressway and the Tappal township

Earlier called Taj Expressway,the project,conceptualised by the Mayawati government in 2001,was put on hold during the Mulayam regime from 2003-07. The previous SP government had objected to the bidding process under which the project was given to Jaypee Group. When Mayawati came to power in 2007,the project was re-christened Yamuna Expressway. Jaypee Group has since completed the 165-km project connecting Agra and Delhi,but it is yet to be inaugurated. Sources close to SP said the project would be renamed,but they are unsure about the future of the township project at Tappal where farmers have held violent agitations.

Ganga Expressway

The 1,047-km access-controlled Ganga Expressway,connecting Greater Noida to Ballia on the UP-Bihar border,was announced by Mayawati on her 52nd birthday on January 15,2008. It was awarded to Jaypee Group. But the project got stalled due to environment issues. The SP manifesto mentioned taking up road projects. Whether the government will revive the Ganga Expressway is uncertain.

Upper Ganga Expressway

This is a 148-km-long access controlled highway connecting Greater Noida to Muzaffarnagar. The bidding process was put on hold at the last stage a few months ago. For the Rs 8,911 crore project,six bidders were selected. Will the government go ahead with the bidding,or start the entire process afresh?

Agra Inner Ring Road

The development of the 24-km Agra Inner Ring Road was given to Jaypee Group in October 2009. The cost of the project is Rs 1,200 crore. The Jaypee Group has already given about Rs 600 crore for acquisition of 300 hectares to Agra Development Authority,the ADA has completed the process and is awaiting the final signal to hand over possession to Jaypee Agra Vikas Ltd,the company that bagged the contract. Sources in the government said that just before the election,Jaypee Group had expressed desire to withdraw from the project,but the Rs 600 crore it had paid has already been spent on land acquisition,unlike the Ganga Expressway where no land acquisition had taken place.

PPP project for medical colleges

The future of the project to set up three medical colleges,including one in Saifai,on the PPP model has become uncertain after the SP,in its manifesto,specifically said it would stop the handing over of government medical colleges to private bidders. The previous government had planned to introduce the PPP model for development,management and running of two medical colleges at Azamgarh and Banda and the Institute of Paramedical Sciences at Saifai.

PPP project in tourism

In order to promote tourism,the government had decided to hand over development,maintenance and upgradation of 68 tourism properties on lease to the private sector,and nine properties only for management. The bidding process is in the last stage. But the process has been put on hold for a review by the new government.

International airports

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The UP government has been pursuing projects for the Taj international airport at Jewar and another international airport at Kushinagar. The first ran into controversy because of its proximity to IGI airport in Delhi. The matter is pending with a group of ministers at the Centre. The Kushinagar International Airport,to be set up to promote the Buddhist circuit,is making good progress. It has got clearances,but private builders have doubts about its viability.

Stadium-cum-sports complex

The Mayawati government offered to construct a cricket stadium-cum-sports complex of international standards on the outskirts of Lucknow. It is proposed to come up on 137 acres,with an investment of Rs 400 crore through the PPP model. Sportpersons have high hopes from the SP government as both Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav have a soft corner for sports.

Power sector

The fate of 1,220 MW Karchana power generation project, worth Rs 7,600 crore,is uncertain. The project was given to Jaypee Group in a bid process,along with the neighbouring Bara thermal power project. While work at Bara has been on,the developer has not been able to start work in Karchana where farmers have been demanding higher compensation. In a bid to introduce PPP in the power sector,the UP government had experimented with giving the franchise for power distribution to Torrent Power. Projects were approved in Agra and Kanpur. While Torrent got the power distribution franchise in Agra,the fate of Kanpur hangs in balance.

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