Are Heaps Of Paper Choking Govt's Infra Dreams?

Of the many ambitious plans that Prime Minister Modi-led government announced after he took charge in 2014, most focus on building, rebuilding or refurbishing infrastructure — this includes the Housing for All by 2022 mission, the Smart City Mission, the Clean Ganga Mission, etc.  Building necessary infrastructure across a country of a gargantuan size is no easy task and the government needs, among many other things, an estimated $1.5 trillion to achieve its pre-set goals.  

And, as far as spending is concerned, there is no lack of generosity shown from the government's side.

Sample this.

• Announcing the Budget for the financial year 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley increased infrastructure spending to Rs 3.96 lakh crore. The planned outlay for railways has also increased to Rs 1.31 crore, a hike of eight per cent.

Also read: #Budget2017: Arun Jaitley Banks On Infrastructure To Drive Growth

• To develop smart cities, the government will be spending Rs 50,000 crore.

• Highway projects worth $93 billion have been announced. Over the next three years, a total of $45 billion will be spent to build a better road network.

• The Urban Development Ministry has approved investment of Rs 2,863 crore in six states under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, for improving basic urban infrastructure over FY17 to FY20.

• The Airports Authority of India will increase its capital expenditure for FY18 by 25 per cent to Rs 2,500 crore to expand capacity at 12 airports.

• About 8,000 kilometres of pavements and more cycle tracks will be built in 106 cities in the next five years by spending Rs 80,000 crore.

In short, one would adore the government gestures till one thinks of implementation. Like most government plans, it is the implementation part which faces umpteen difficulties. In fact, the government is finding it hard to implement laws that would speed up the implementation process.

Only on paper

The recently enacted Real Estate Law is a case in point. Had the law been enacted in letter and spirit across the nation, it would certainly have ensured faster implementation of real estate projects. But, despite several directives and follow ups from the Central ministry headed by M Venkaiah Naidu, many states failed to notify rules by May 1. Those who managed to stick to the deadline are also accused of dilution the rules. Credit agencies and experts are already apprehensive about a weak law, which is expected to reform the sector.

The same is true of the Goods and Services Tax Act. There has already been much dilly-dallying in implementing the new tax regime. No wonder while the government struggles to finish the paperwork, real work on government programmes such as smart city mission and housing for all is also moving at a snail's pace. The tech-savvy PM, however, does have a plan to change this.

The PM has reportedly told planning body NITI Aayog to examine technological methods used worldwide to create infrastructure. In the meantime, he wants project monitoring to be done through drones.

Also Read: To Buyers' Benefit, RERA Will Cut Down New Launches