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Journalism of Courage
Hours after signing the landmark Indo-US open skies treaty, US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta had a message that Indian politicians could learn from. Infrastructure development, he felt, was above party politics and, as the sole Democrat serving his second term in a Republican administration, Mineta should know better.
‘‘I keep saying, there is no such thing as a Republican highway or a Democratic highway,’’ he told The Indian Express in an exclusive interaction as he drove home the point that roads, highways, ports, airports are ‘‘non-partisan’’ issues in the US.
It was five years ago in Austin, Texas, when then President-elect of the US George W. Bush made the offer to Mineta and he looked at his wife who nodded in agreement. ‘‘I even spoke to President (Bill) Clinton who told me that his inclination was I ought to take it up.’’
Mineta recalled that he also spoke to Al Gore, who was still to recover from the narrow electoral defeat but still encouraged him to take up the offer. ‘‘He told me that may be you could start the healing process.’’
Many faces that dotted the first Bush administration have changed, but Mineta continues to go strong drawing from his experience of over two decades as a member of the Congressional committee on public works and transportation. ‘‘There are several problems I face, but being a Democrat in a Republican administration is definitely not one of them.’’
Upbeat about the just-signed open skies agreement, Mineta said Delta Airlines plans connections between New York and Chennai while Northwest Airlines will start direct services between Minneapolis and Bangalore. Last week, Continental Airlines announced the first non-stop service from New York to New Delhi.
Mineta also presided over the setting up of an US-India Aviation Cooperation Programme that has some of the leading US companies like Raytheon, Boeing, Bell Helicopters on board. He also used his visit to impress upon the Civil Aviation Minister that Boeing should get a fair chance in the aircraft acquisition by India’s State-owned carriers. ‘‘I was told that Boeing will be given a fair consideration.’’
Aviation apart, the US Transportation Secretary is keen on carrying forward the same spirit to other modes of transportation. On maritime cooperation, Mineta said he held talks with Shipping and Surface Transport Minister T.R. Baalu today but felt the scope of cooperation was still open-ended and general. ‘‘Let them focus on what their needs are and I am sure we can develop cooperation in areas where the US has the expertise.’’
The discussions on road transport were more focussed, with the US underlining the importance of cooperation in road safety. ‘‘India has 100,000 fatal accidents in a year and we think the US can help in this.’’
Though the details will be spelt out in the days ahead, Mineta identified four areas on which cooperation in surface transport can be deepened. ‘‘First is the planning process (of highways and roads). Second would be how to improve longevity of roads, third would be how to reduce maintenance costs and fourth, road traffic safety.’’
Mineta, however, was impressed by India’s willingness to experiment with the BOMT (build, operate, maintain and transfer) route to make roads. ‘‘Perhaps, this is one area where we could learn from India. This could be a more effective way to ensure, for instance, that the contractor uses the right material to build roads.’’
