April 15: Private participation is not forthcoming in the road sector because of multiplicity of authority, says industrialist Ratan Tata, heading the Prime Minister's Committee on Infrastructure.In a report submitted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Tata is also critical of the policies of M Thambi Durai, former Union Minister of Surface Transport. ``When increasing transparency and single window (authority) are the order of the day, the minister talks of setting up new authorities and boards - which only complicate the procedures, tying them in red tape,'' Tata states.Thambi Durai had proposed setting up of a National Expressway Authority of India and also of a Road Board under Acts of Parliament. The proposals were completed and sent to the Cabinet for approval. This when there is already a wing in the Ministry of Surface Transport looking after road development and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), established specifically for constructing highways in the country.What the former minister seemed to be doing was contrary to the earlier stated road policy. The ministry, in 1996, had painstakingly worked out a road policy to encourage private and foreign investment. ``Thambi Durai has reversed the policies of the ministry. The development of roads and ports has been put back by 20 years,'' another member in the PM's committee on infrastructure says.The Tata report also questions the feasibility of express highways in India in the present environment. There is need for creation of institutional and legal framework facilitating private investment. ``The ministry delayed even a basic thing like finalisation of the Concession Agreement Form. In times when governments and companies are conducting business and signing agreements on the Internet, the Ministry of Surface Transport seems to be going backward, erecting barriers which are keeping the private investors away,'' it adds.The Tata report suggests that there should be a single authority to deal with private investors. The ministry should also consider putting the Model Concession Agreement on the Internet for enhanced transparency. ``The need is for establishing credibility and sending the message of efficiency and not of harassment,'' Tata says in the report.The committee on infrastructure was asked to look into the problems afflicting the sector after the international conference on Expressway development in December last, failed to generate any private or foreign investment. A lot was expected from the four-day conference, hosting which the MoST spent Rs 2 crore.There were not even queries from representatives of multilateral agencies, financial institutions, investors and consultants who attended the conference. Funds amounting to Rs 1,25,000 crore are required to build 13,500 km of road stretches which include the 7,000 km of cross-country corridor, national highways and expressways.
