Panel sets deadline for mega infra projects

A steering group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today finalised deadlines for execution of mega infrastructure projects in railways,roads,aviation and power sectors

A steering group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today finalised deadlines for execution of mega infrastructure projects in railways,roads,aviation and power sectors entailing investments of about Rs 1,15,000 crore.

The group headed by Singhs principal secretary Pulok Chatterji today directed the railways to decide whether to reissue the Request for Qualification RFQ for the Mumbai elevated rail corridor envisaging an investment of about Rs 30,000 crore within a week.

The group,which was constituted on June 28 during a meeting between the Prime Minister,finance minister and ministers of infrastructure ministries,today decided to monitor the progress of stranded projects and the intermediate steps needed to be taken for expediting them on a regular basis.

The deadlines will ensure that ministries or departments are clear about not just the overall time line but also all the intermediate steps needed to be completed so that there are no slippages, according to a release issued after the meeting. They have been asked to nominate a nodal officer on the rank of joint secretary or above to report on a weekly basis on the progress of their respective projects.

The steering group directed the railways to provide accurate deadlines for completion of Khurja-Kanpur,Kanpur-Mughalsarai and Mughalsarai-Sonnagar stretches. On the Ludhiana-Dadri stretch for which funding has yet to be fully tied up,the group will review the matter in four weeks,after the committee on financing projects in Railways completes its work.

In the roads sector,the road transport ministry would work on the model of Delhi-Jaipur expressway while pursuing Eastern Peripheral,Delhi-Meerut and Mumbai-Vadodara expressways.

The group has also asked the power ministry to award the 13 identified transmission projects as per the defined timelines,while the civil aviation ministry has been told to make efforts for moving ahead with Goa airport.