Karnataka rethinks policy on infrastructure

A new law for speedy land acquisition and the creation of land banks for infrastructure projects is being debated by the Karnataka Government in an effort to boost infrastructure growth in the state.

A new law for speedy land acquisition and the creation of land banks for infrastructure projects is being debated by the Karnataka Government in an effort to boost infrastructure growth in the state. Both proposals feature in the draft of a new infrastructure policy being discussed at the bureaucratic level in the government.

The proposals are aimed at getting around roadblocks to infrastructure projects and to attract private participation. A presentation on the need for a new legislation to acquire land for infrastructure projects, circulated by the Karnataka infrastructure development department argues that the timeline for land acquisition under present laws is currently around 8220;8-9 months, if pursued earnestly8221;.

A new legislation that can reduce the time taken for the land acquisition process by fixing responsibility and streamlining the process may be necessary to speed up infrastructure projects, the presentation states. The proposal to create land banks for infrastructure projects is aimed at enabling the government to take up projects, when necessary, by using land already in its custody.

Sources in the government said the proposal to create land banks had received a mixed response from the bureaucracy. The proposal has been severely criticised by the state revenue department, officials in the infrastructure development department said. 8220;The proposal was based on an ADB study for infrastructure development in India. The revenue department has opposed it strongly. It is not likely to feature in the new policy,8221; an IDD official said.

The land bank proposal was given serious thought in the light of difficulties in acquisition of land for projects like the Bangalore International Airport, the IDD official said. A proposal for creation of a special interchange near the new airport to enable speedy road access to the airport has, for instance, been delayed by over a year due to a legal dispute over acquisition of a small portion of land. A retail home appliances chain is engaged in a legal battle with the state government over the acquisition of around three acres of land for the interchange project. Due to the delay in land acquisition there is a danger of the new Bangalore international airport being ready in April 2008 8212; before the interchange for the airport on National Highway 7 is put in place. Land acquisition for a long-awaited modern airport at Mysore, at an already existing airstrip, is also currently stuck in a legal battle.

As part of the new infrastructure policy the Karnataka Government is also considering introduction of the Swiss challenge method and allow private investors to propose infrastructure projects instead of participating only in government-proposed projects.