RFQ invited for Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has invited Request for Qualification (RFQ) from construction companies for the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway project, which is estimated to cost ?46,000 crore. The project is popularly known as Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor. There are plans to develop new towns with agriculture hubs along the 706 km corridor. The RFQ has been invited for 16 packages in the EPC mode. The project is expected to be completed by 2019, a press statement issued MSRDC said. Out of the total project cost, civil works for which the tenders are invited is estimated at ?27,650 crore. The land acquisition cost will be around ?13,000 crore. The state government has adopted the land-pooling method wherein farmers whose land is acquired would be returned developed land in the new towns, besides being given annuity for the loss of agriculture income, the statement said. The statement said that MSC Corridor is essentially a 706 km super expressway between Nagpur and Mumbai, connecting 10 districts, 27 talukas and 385 villages of the state. It will effectively slash travel time along this axis by half, bringing it down to a mere eight hours. Out of the 34 rural districts, 24 will get connected to the MSC. The corridor will eventually be integrated with the Golden Quadrilateral and the Western corridor to ensure seamless connectivity across the state, the statement said. Calvin Ridley Womens Jersey
Higher Budgetary Support To Drive Road Builders In 2017
The infrastructure sector, considered the growth engine of the economy, started 2016 on a promising note. While the sector has not recovered from the sluggishness prevailing since 2015, certain segments like roads have witnessed a considerable pickup of late, a report by IIFL Private Wealth Management said. Higher budgetary allocation and aggressive targets by Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari held out hope. Regulatory approval for infrastructure investment trusts and the government’s new arbitration norms were expected to ease stress. But like for other sectors, withdrawal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes has brought uncertainty to the infrastructure space. Analysts still see a silver lining and anticipate a higher allocation for infrastructure and roads in the next budget. A Recap Of ‘2016’ In the Union Budget of 2016-17, capital outlays for the road transport and highways ministry were increased by 49 percent to Rs 1,03,286 crore from Rs 69,422 crore allocated in the previous year. Gadkari set an ambitious target of awarding 25,000 kilometres of road projects in 2016-17 as against 10,000 kilometres in the previous year. The minister has, however, lowered his target of building new roads, conceding that his ministry will fall short of 40 kilometres a day. Analysts feel the targets weren’t realistic but the sector could outdo previous year’s achievements. NHAI is most likely to miss its ambitious targets of initially announced 25,000 km set for the year by a huge margin on the back of delay in awarding orders and appointment of its new chairman, Yudhvir Singh Mali. However, the existing gap between deliverables and targets may narrow down since 40-50 percent of orders are awarded in the last three months of the financial year. Vibhor Singhal, Lead Analyst, Phillip Securities Pte Alok Deora, assistant vice president at IIFL, agreed that the initial target of awarding 25,000 kilometres road projects in the the current financial year was ambitious. Considering the pace of awarding projects so far, it may end flat year-on-year at 10,000 kilometres, Deora said. In the (financial) year so far, road awarding has witnessed a 7-8 percent growth in April- November 2016 over the previous year. Though the initial target of 25,000 km set by the government might be a tall ask, the sector might just be able to outdo its previous year’s performance of 10,000 km. Divyata Dalal, AVP – Institutional Equities, Systematix Shares & Stocks India Besides, the higher spends and wishful targets, implementation of announced reforms and policy initiatives kept the space abuzz. Infrastructure Investment Trusts: More than two years after SEBI issued guidelines for infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), the capital markets regulator in 2016 allowed three companies — IRB Infrastructure Ltd., GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd. — to launch the trusts. InvIT — a good initiative, would help developers de-leverage and allow them to execute more projects. This definitely seems to be a trigger from where the investments would kick in. Alok Deora, AVP – Research, IIFL Arbitration Guidelines: In order to expedite resolution of claims stuck in arbitration for years, the government has approved new guidelines, which allow releasing 75 percent of the amount against a margin free guarantee in a situation where awards have been given by the authorities concerned. Government has done its bit to restore investors’ confidence, with release of 75% of the money in the arbitration award being the big positive for this space. This new norm is expected to provide much-needed liquidity for the infrastructure sector. Also, the government spending more and taking more policy initiatives to lift this space, given its tangible characteristics. Divyata Dalal, AVP- Institutional Equities, Systematix Shares & Stocks India Hybrid Annuity Model: To revive public-private partnerships in highway construction, the government introduced the Hybrid Annuity Model at the start of 2016. HAM has seen significant traction since the government provides 40 percent of the project cost to the developer to start work while the remaining investment has to be made by the developer. A lot of HAM projects have been awarded so far in this year and the pipeline of HAM projects remains huge. The government is betting big on it as it’s the key driver in road awarding in coming period. Alok Deora, AVP – Research, IIFL Room For Correction? The Nifty Infrastructure Index has fallen 2 percent in 2016 compared to 3 percent gains posted by the NSE Nifty50 Index. Share prices of prominent road building companies like IRB Infrastructure (down 19.5 percent), GMR Infrastructure (down 27.7 percent) and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. (down 14 percent) have declined substantially. Analysts expect the index’s price-to-earnings ratio to correct to 15.8 times in 2017 from 20.2 times as it currently stands, indicating further downside for stocks in the index. However, the index’s price-to-book ratio is expected to rise to 1.68 times as compared to its current 1.54 times. Demonetisation Demon Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised the nation on November 8 by demonetising old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. While most sectors reacted negatively, the full impact of demonetisation is yet to be ascertained. Demonetisation is expected to curtail private and state capital expenditure in the infra space but spending by the central government is likely to remain strong, said Deora. Cash crunch post demonetisation led to a temporary halt in toll collection on state and national highways across the country. Major players have hinted at 75-100 percent compensation from the government for the loss incurred, IIFL’s Deora said in his report, adding that there has been no clear indication from the government in terms of timing, mode of payment and the quantum of compensation. Demonetisation may also impact traffic growth as the economic activity is likely to slow down in the near term. Tolling companies, which had seen a pick-up in traffic after two to three years of sluggish growth, now fear weak toll revenue growth. But there is also an upside. Phillip Securities’ Singhal said that though the impact of demonetisation needs to be evaluated, increased liquidity in
Hybrid annuity road projects face financial closure hurdles
Some of the road projects under the new hybrid annuity model (HAM) that attracted aggressive bidding this fiscal year are struggling to achieve financial closure as banks remain cautious, developers and analysts said. Under HAM, the government commits up to 40% of the project cost over a period and hands the project to the developer. The developer has to fund the balance with debt and equity, and is paid annuity income in instalments. The model was designed to make it safe for banks and investors. Satish Parakh, managing director at roads developer Ashoka Buildcon Ltd, said some lenders are “not happy” with the hybrid annuity model. “Some of the banks are refusing to finance on the basis of those documents, and only a few banks are coming forward for the hybrid annuity model. They have some reservations which they are discussing with the NHAI. The other part is that some companies are finding it difficult to put equity,” said Parakh said. He added the company had achieved financial closure of its HAM project. Like all public-private-partnership (PPP) projects, HAM projects too are facing issues with financial closure, said K. Ramchand, managing director, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL). ITNL, which has the largest portfolio of build, operate and transfer (BOT) road projects, has bid for HAM projects in various states but not announced a win so far. Out of the 26 HAM projects awarded this fiscal, about four-five could get scrapped due to inability of the developer to invest equity or bring in debt, said an analyst, asking not to be named as he is not authorized to speak to reporters. Large banks such as State Bank of India (SBI) and Axis Bank are selectively funding HAM projects even as many companies continue to bid for and win such projects, according to this analyst. SBI and Axis Bank did not respond to email queries sent on Thursday. “Earlier, banks were slightly reluctant with funding hybrid annuity projects, especially for developers with weak balance sheets and lack of construction experience. They (banks) were taking longer time than usual to assess HAM projects as they wanted to understand the new business model. However, in the recent weeks, a lot of companies including Welspun, MEP Infra and Sadbhav have been able to achieve financial closure for their hybrid annuity projects,” said IIFL Wealth analyst Alok Deora. On 2 December, Deora had said in a report that certain small developers had failed to receive financial closure for their HAM projects, which were consequently cancelled. The government’s push for new low-risk HAM awards to kick-start private sector investments has led to the emergence of a number of smaller, regional companies that have added to the sector’s competitive intensity, according to road developers and analysts. The increase in awards of projects under the government-funded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model too has driven up bidding aggression. Companies including Sadbhav Infrastructure Projects Ltd, Welspun Enterprises Ltd, and Ashoka Buildcon have been able to tie up loans and submit their financial closure details to NHAI. MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd has been able to achieve financial closure for two of its projects with two others yet to be closed, while PNC Infratech Ltd and Dilip Buildcon Ltd are expecting to achieve financial closure by March. Some other companies such as MBL Infrastructures Ltd, APCO Infratech Pvt. Ltd, Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt. Ltd and GR Infraprojects Ltd, are yet to achieve financial closure of their won projects, according to channel checks of the firms. “A concern in the roads sector today is that there is huge aggression even though the number of players is less. The job being bid out are quite large, but theirs is no comfortable participation and instead, there is a lot of aggression. And that will lead to execution challenges,” Ashoka Buildcon’s Parakh said. Road projects in India have always been awarded in one of the three formats—BOT annuity, BOT toll and EPC. In BOT annuity, a developer builds a highway, operates it for a specified duration and transfers it to the government, which pays the developer annuity over the concession period. Under BOT toll, a concessionaire generates revenue from the toll levied on vehicles using a road. In EPC, the developer builds with government money. India has set a target to award 25,000km of road projects in FY17 under the ministry of road transport and highways and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), compared to 10,000km achieved in FY16.
Gurgaon: New Year, new authority, renewed hopes
The city did not have much to cheer about in 2016 except a few announcements such as the Pod taxi project that is too ambitious for Gurgaon where basic infrastructure is in shambles. This year, Gurgaon residents have high hopes that all infrastructure developments undertaken by the authorities are fulfilled and some respite is provided at least on the traffic and transportation fronts. HT focuses on some major government plans and announcements that could improve the quality of life in the city this year. New Development Authority Waterlogging and massive traffic jams in July and August were largely attributed to the lack of coordination among government agencies in the city. The mess forced the government to think of an integrated authority that could bridge gaps in governance and ensure delivery of projects on time. The announcement of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) was the result. A senior IAS officer V Umashankar was assigned the task of preparing a draft bill and overseeing the formation of the authority. The authority will prepare plans and get them executed through various government departments. However, the announcement received mixed reactions from residents. Several residents are not convinced by the role it has been assigned. “A new development authority is welcome but its role should be clearly defined. We are not able to understand why the municipal corporation and other departments could not deliver projects that the GMDA aims to take up,” Brij Mohan of DLF Phase 4 said. Residents want the authority to focus on public transportation and improve civic facilities in the city. Umashankar is of the view that the city has been developed haphazardly and it was not right to expect things to get right overnight. He said the authority could deliver but with time. GMDA authorities said, after its formation, the authority would purchase 500 CNG buses and prepare a master plan for development of the city. Rapid Metro Rapid Metro’s Phase 2 (south extension) operations are expected to begin in February-March with the trial run underway, sources said. The deadline for the project was extended from 2015-end to 2016-end and now to the first quarter of 2017. The line has been under construction since April 2013. This line of the Rapid Metro will have stations at DLF Phase 1, Sushant Lok, Sector 53/54, AIT Chowk and Sector 55/56. It will start from Sikanderpur metro station near Bristol Chowk and terminate at Golf Course Extension T-junction. Built at a cost of ?2,143 crore, the service is expected to provide last-mile connectivity and a gateway to New Delhi via the yellow line of the Delhi Metro through the interchange station at Sikanderpur. Delhi Metro Extension (Gurgaon-Bawal) A Mass Rapid Transit System is being developed to connect Gurgaon and Bawal industrial area through an elevated Metro project. The corridor will run along the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Global City project. In the first phase, the Metro corridor will connect Huda City Centre Metro station to Panchgaon Chowk through SPR and Global City. In phase II, it will extend up to Bawal from Panchgaon along NH-8. Work is expected to begin from March, and last week, the Haryana Urban Developement Authority transferred 147 acres to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to develop a metro depot near the Global City. The project is part of the public-private partnership between HSIIDC and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd that is launching several infrastructure projects on the stretch at a cost of ?3,500 crore. Projects To Ease Snarls Several infrastructure projects aimed at easing traffic congestion are expected to start this year. Work has started on the three underpasses at Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower crossing and Iffco Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. Trenching started at the three sites in the first week of December and the concessionaire has started barricading these sites. Union Transport minister Nitin Gadkari has set a deadline of 15 months from the day the work formally starts for the completion of the project. One of the underpasses is expected to be open this year. The Northern Peripheral Road also known as the Dwarka Expressway, which has been limbo since 2006, was designated as a national highway by the Union transport ministry in 2016. Consequently, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) started the exercise to connect this road with NH-8 at Shiv Murti near Mahipalpur in New Delhi. Also, a section of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway became operational between Manesar and Palwal in 2016. The Haryana government revised the deadline to complete the Kundli-Manesar section from August 2018 to February 2017. Commuters are hoping that the new road projects will give them some respite from their daily traffic woes. “We want a smooth ride to work and back. Spending more than two hours a day in traffic is not an ideal condition for a city resident. People are also expected to cooperate in this direction,” Manish Arora, a banker, said. Real Estate Blues Gurgaon is considered one of the largest real estate markets in the country. However, a large number of property buyers have been complaining of fraud and cheating by developers as projects are not delivered on time. Developers, on the other hand, blame adverse market conditions for the delay. Apartment buyers are hoping that the state government will implement the Real Estate Regulatory Act 2016 (RERA) that will set up a regulatory body to oversee the real estate sector in the state. The Act is aimed at protecting homebuyers and boosting investments in the real estate industry. “The shortage of cash following demonetisation is expected to deal another blow to the real estate sector and projects will get delayed. We expect the government to intervene so that developers can complete projects on time,” Satish Mishra, an apartment buyer who has been waiting for delivery of his flat for the last three years, said. Policing With a burgeoning population, the crime rate is increasing in Gurgaon. It is becoming tough for the police to keep a
NHAI TO GET DPR PREPARED FOR ‘BHARATMALA PROJECT’ IN C’GARH
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has begun process for getting Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared for Chhattisgarh among six other states besides the Union territory of Puducherry for the 15,000 Kms ‘Bharatmala Project,’ official sources informed here on Saturday. The other states for which the DPR would be prepared are– Odisha, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The Chhattisgarh Government has set the target of completing construction of 338 roads at a cost of Rs19,326 crores by March 2018. The Government has already completed development of 6,279 roads measuring a total of 26,504 kms under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. As many as 8,533 settlements near the new main roads had been benefitted by the projects out of 10,560 identified as per the guidelines of the scheme, officials informed. State Panchayat and Rural Development officials informed that under the scheme, a total of 9461 settlements have been approved to be benefitted from the scheme in which a total of 6,279 roads had been completed. Chief Minister Raman Singh has said that roads projects worth Rs35,000 crores are currently in the process of implementation in the entire State. Singh had given the information in his address delivered after inaugurating the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DICCI) Chhattisgarh unit here last month. Notably, the Central government had also been implementing various developmental schemes through its different Ministries/Departments for creating infrastructure in the LWE affected regions of the country including Chhattisgarh. Some of such schemes are Road Requirement Plan-I (RRP-I), Construction of fortified Police Stations, Mobile Towers and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) etc. The Road Requirement Plan-I (RRP-I scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for improving road connectivity in 34 most LWE affected districts. This scheme envisages 5,422 Km road lengths. The Left Wing Extremists often oppose any development activities in the areas of their influence and try to obstruct the implementation of the schemes, officials stated. Consequently, some projects are delayed beyond their scheduled time. However, as and when such incidents come into the notice of the Government, adequate security is provided by deployment of Security Forces. Besides, the Central Government has provided various relaxations for taking up the works in LWE affected areas ensuring early and timely completion of the projects. These relaxations include accepting of tenders up to 10% higher of the updated cost, splitting the works in smaller parts, awarding of works on nomination basis, separate Schedule of Rates (SoR), extended completion period and general exemption upto 5 hectare forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. While taking it as a challenge, the Chhattisgarh government has completed construction of 1052 kms of roads in insurgency infested pockets of the State with co-operation of the Central government, State PWD Minister Rajesh Munat said recently. In an official statement issued here, Munat said that the police provided adequate security cover to road development projects in the red zones. Notably, a total of 16 districts of Chhattisgarh remain insurgency-infested out of the 106 districts in 10 States as identified by the Central Government as ‘Left Wing Extremism’ (LWE) affected districts in the country, according to the latest Central Government data. The districts are – Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Jashpur, Kanker, Koriya (Baikunthpur), Narayanpur , Rajnandgaon, Surguja, Dhamtari, Mahasamund ,Gariaband, Balod, Sukma, Kondagaon and Balrampur. Chhattisgarh is also among the seven worst Left Wing Extremism (LWE) states which been allocated Rs228.56 crore as Additional Central Assistance (ACA) by Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had approved the State-wise allocation of Additional Central Assistance of Rs1000 crores to 35 worst LWE affected districts in seven states recently. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has allocated fund Rs28.57 crores per district. Thus, Jharkhand is allocated Rs457.12 crore, Chhattisgarh Rs228.56 crore, Bihar Rs171.42 crore, Odisha Rs57.14 crore and Rs28.57 crore each to the States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In an attempt to boost-up developmental works in insurgency-hit districts, the Chhattisgarh Government has decided to fix three percent amount of cost of construction works funded by the Centre as ‘protection component’. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways acquired 115 hectares of land in Chhattisgarh for taking up various national highway projects during the last financial year, the Central Government has informed. Notably, land for the construction of National Highways in the country is acquired under the provisions of the National Highways (NHs) Act, 1956, and the compensation is determined in consonance with the applicable provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had acquired 66 hectares of land during 2014-15. It had targetted to complete 10,950 km of National Highways during 2015-16 in the country. A total length of 1733 km have been constructed till July 31, 2015. The Central Government had also sanctioned an amount of Rs305.56 crore for 10 important works under Central Road Fund Scheme during 2015-16 in Chhattisgarh, officials stated. These 10 works include construction of one road route, two Railway over-bridges and under-bridges, one fly-over and bridge. PWD Minister Rajesh Munat had stated that these works have been approved by Central Government last year year for ensuring smooth traffic movement in busy areas of the State. He said that these 10 approved works include construction of flyover at NH-6 Canal Road in Kashiram Nagar in Raipur at the cost of Rs46.35 crore, construction of bridge on Hasdeo River at Champa-Korba-Katghora Road at the cost of Rs29.77 crore, and construction of bridges on Rajnandgaon-Kawardha Road at the cost of Rs13.70 crore and on Rajnandgaon Arjunda-Gunderdehi Road at the cost of Rs24.17 crore. Bradley McDougald Womens Jersey
A look at new infrastructure projects for Mumbaikars in 2017
On the right track Transport projects: AC train Will your travel be any smoother in 2017? Let’s hope so. Railway authorities are doing their bit to complete a few of the delayed projects for the city’s 79 lakh suburban rail commuters, starting with the much touted air-conditioned local train. The Centre has already approved the procurement of 47 AC rakes of 12 cars each. The success of the AC rake, under trial on Central Railway, will determine the quality and make of the new ones. The fleet will be younger as the new Bombardier trains are expected to become a majority on both Western and Central railways. The process of procuring more rakes is already underway under MUTP-III. The much needed augmentation of the rail network is also shaping up. The Harbour line will spread its arms beyond Andheri, going all the way till Goregaon, which will be ready by March. On CR, two additional lines — fifth and sixth — meant for long-distance trains too will be ready by next year-end. These lines will separate the suburban section and remove the bottleneck right till Kalyan from CST completely. And lastly, Wi-Fi at railway stations will see a big boost. By the end of 2016, Indian Railways covered 100 stations across India, as it started providing Wi-Fi from Mumbai with 15 stations here having the facility. Also, at many stations, the railways is gradually replacing staircases with escalators. On the anvil: New termini, bridges, tracks There are a few multi-crore projects in the pipeline, which are expected to start from 2017, the most important being the sixth line on the Mumbai Central-Borivli route. It will help the Western Railway to segregate its suburban system. At present, long-distance trains use the fast line and the fifth line for operating long-distance trains. Also, there are plans to convert Thane, Panvel and Kalyan stations into termini. It will boost these stations’ capacity to handle more and also provide better connectivity. A new station has been planned on Thane Mental Hospital land, which is part of Thane terminus. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and railways have jointly planned to demolish and reconstruct road and foot overbridges crisscrossing railway lines. The process began with British-era Hancock Bridge; bridges of Carnac and Sion-Bandra link road are in the pipeline. The road runners Attention is being given to road transport as well with the state government in the process of implementing the much awaited City Taxi Rules 2016 to govern taxis, autorickshaws, fleet cabs and mobile aggregators operating across the state. There are 50 lakh-plus passengers using this mode of transport in Mumbai. The guidelines are already in place, which the state government will finalise by mid-2017. More share-taxis and autorickshaw stands too are on the anvil. Health: Mazgaon to get city’s second cancer hospital After Tata Memorial Hospital, India’s biggest cancer hospital, the city will get another cancer hospital next year, in Mazgaon, specialising in head and neck cancer. It’s going to be a unique partnership between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and five philanthropic organisations, where the treatment will be subsidised, just like it is in Tata. The BMC will hand over its non-functional Abhilyabhai Maternity Hospital to Dr Sultan Pradhan CanCare Charitable Trust for the construction of an 87-bed cancer hospital. Besides this, GT hospital will start a cancer ward, as per approval from the state health department, and Kasturba Hospital, which has one of the biggest burn wards among the city’s civic hospitals, will start an isolation ward. There’s also good news for those suffering from thalassaemia. Next month, the city will get a first-of-its-kind state-of-the-art centre for patients. There will be 24 beds for a day-care centre, and eight for the transplant unit. And, bone marrow transplants will be done for free. On July 2, 2015, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner had sanctioned the project on July 2, 2015, while R4.87 crore was sanctioned for the same in the current fiscal (2016-17). A space of 25,000 sq ft near R Central in Borivli has been approved for the centre. The infra calendar Coastal Road: Work to begin in October To end the city’s traffic nightmare, the civic body has planned to construct a 29.2-km coastal road. The project has missed one deadline so far, and the BMC now aims to start work in October. With more than eight NOCs (No-Objection Certificates) in its kitty from various departments, the civic body is awaiting a nod from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The road, which will start from South Mumbai’s Princess Street flyover in Marine Lines and end in Kandivli, is expected to take five years to complete. Along with the road constructed on reclaimed land, a six-km tunnel will also be a part of the Rs 15,094-crore project. To speed it up, the civic body has divided it in two phases — Princess Street flyover to Worli and Bandra to Kandivli. At the moment, the BMC is focusing on the first phase as it is only 9.98-km in length. Zoo revamp: To be finished soon The controversial revamp of Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan (Byculla zoo) is expected to be completed in 2017. Presently, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is under fire for bringing Humboldt penguins in the zoo without having their exhibits ready. As part of the revamp, the BMC is going to construct 18 enclosures.Fifty per cent of the work has been completed in the Rs 150-crore project — entrance plaza, 60 pocket gardens and a quarantine section for the penguins. Work on the exhibits is expected to be completed in a month. The BMC is also in touch with other Indian zoos for bringing in new animals; it has its eyes on a lion, Bengal tiger, hyena, jackal, bear and some exotic animals, such as the emu. It also plans to increase the entry charge for the zoo after the revamp, which has a deadline of 2017-end. Goregaon-Mulund Link Road: Work starts this year The on-ground work on the fifth link
Toll plaza crisis worsens after demonetisation
Despite the mounting protest against the toll collection at Paliyekkara after demonetisation, the dormant attitude of the district administration has drawn criticism. Day by day, activists of various political parties have been intervening in the long queues there and forcibly opening the toll gates for free passage of vehicles which invited complaints from the toll company management. In a petition by the toll company against the Youth Congress activists and Puthukkad SI for opening the toll gates during peak traffic for free passage, the management had alleged more than Rs 2.75 lakh revenue loss during December 14 to 17. It also alleged that various political parties brought a revenue loss of over Rs 1.93 lakh to the company. “Long queues and subsequent protest by passengers have become a daily phenomenon here and yet no one took the initiative to solve the issue. Considering the peak season of tourists and Sabarimala pilgrimage, the district administration should have addressed the issue here,” said DCC vice-president Joseph Tajet, who collected information on the toll company’s complaint on revenue loss through Right to Information Act. He added that if the revenue loss calculated by the company gets the nod, then the 20-year agreement would be a huge loss to the common tax payer. The UDF had submitted a petition to the PWD minister, district collector, rural SP and human rights commission addressing various issues at the toll plaza, but so far the authorities have done little to resolve these issues. Thomas Vanek Authentic Jersey
Expressway lenders to meet on plan to restart toll
Lenders of the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway project are scheduled to meet on January 4 to discuss legal options for a proposal being prepared to restart toll collection at the cities’ border even as the NHAI maintains there is no such plan. Millennium City Expressways Pvt Ltd (MCEPL), the company that operates and maintains the speedway, had told TOI on Wednesday it was preparing the proposal. Though sources said MCEPL had been asked to do so by the highways authority, there is no official communication from NHAI to MCEPL. Neither is there any official record of a meeting in the NHAI headquarters where the issue was discussed two weeks ago. Sources said everything is happening in an “informal” manner. They admitted any plan to resume toll collection draw huge public anger and NHAI will find it difficult to come out in support of any such move. The 32-lane Sirhaul toll plaza, on the expressway at the border of Gurgaon and Delhi, was scrapped in February 2014 on the orders of the Delhi high court after the NHAI and lenders agreed to it. On the latest proposal, an official, who did not wish to be named, said, “Under no circumstances can the NHAI approach the court. So, the present operator and lenders are taking the lead to explore options to approach the court. NHAI cannot cite no revenue from the project as a reason to reopen the case, but MCEPL and lenders can move an application as they are losing out on their investment.” Sources said the talk of restarting toll collection gained momentum due to increasing demand from local commuters and industries operating from Manesar to remove the other toll plaza on the expressway, at Kherki Dhaula. The Haryana government is in favour of this and had even proposed buying out the project. The state was keen to scrap the toll plaza before it the golden jubilee celebrations of Haryana began on November 1. But it did not materialise. Next Wednesday, experts will discuss legal aspects if they are to approach the court for permission to restart toll collection, sources said. Moreover, rebuilding the toll plaza is expected to cost around Rs 1.5 crore. The plan under preparation envisages completing toll plaza construction in six months if the proposal goes through. “Around 18 legal partners from the banks will meet on Wednesday to discuss how the matter should be presented in court. The first clearance has to come from the banks and legal partners because we do not want to waste time and money,” said a senior MCEPL official. One of the reasons that may be cited before the court to resume toll operations is NHAI’s loss of Rs 1 crore a month, its revenue from the Sirhaul toll plaza. Another logic would be that the commuters crossing Kherki Dhaula toll plaza are being made unfairly made to pay more to compensate. The toll fee charges from cars in February 2014 was Rs 26 per trip at Sirhaul toll plaza. After it was removed, this fee was hiked at Kherki Daula toll plaza. As a result, commuters who were initially paying Rs 33 at Kherki Daula are now paying Rs 60. Brad Daugherty Authentic Jersey
Government okays Rs 11,000 crore road projects for Left-wing hit areas
The government has approved an over Rs 11,000-crore project to construct all-weather roads and improve connectivity for security reasons in nearly 40 districts worst hit by the Left-wing extremism and violence. Approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the ‘Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas’ will provide connectivity in 35 worst affected LWE districts – which account for 90 per cent of total LWE violence in the country – and 9 adjoining districts, critical from security angle. To be implemented as a vertical under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, more than 5,400 kilometres of road would be constructed/upgraded and 126 bridges/cross drainage works would be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 11,724.53 crore. The roads will be operable through the year, irrespective of weather conditions. The fund sharing for the LWE road project will be same as the PMGSY – in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and states for all states except for North Eastern and three Himalayan States (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) for which it is 90:10. Finance Ministry will allocate Rs 7,034.72 crore to the Ministry of Rural Development for the project during the implementation period 2016-17 to 2019-20. Ministry of Rural Development will be the responsible for sponsoring and implementing the project. The roads taken up under the scheme would include Other District Roads (ODRs), Village Roads (VRs) and upgrading of the existing Major District Roads (MDRs), that are critical from the security point of view. Bridges up to a span of 100 metres, critical from security angle, would also be funded on these roads. National and state highways have been excluded from the project. The roads to be constructed under the scheme have been identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the state governments and security agencies. PMGSY was launched in 2000 as a centrally-sponsored scheme with the objective to provide all-weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected habitations in the rural areas. Troy Hill Jersey
Demonetisation: NHAI to pay Rs 922 crore for toll loss
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will shell out Rs 922 crore to private highway operators for the toll revenue loss they incurred due to suspension of user charge collection from the afternoon of November 9 to the midnight of December 2. Toll collection was suspended across all national highways in the country following demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8. NHAI has moved a proposal to compensate private highway operators “to boost the confidence of private investors”, give “immediate relief ” to already stressed developers and to provide a safeguard against bank loans becoming nonperforming assets. The proposal needs the nod of the Cabinet committee on economic affairs for the fund to be released. The NHAI proposal says that the compensation payment has arisen solely on account of the government decision. The highway authority has worked out the compensation based on the average daily collection in October. Though this works out to be Rs 1,212 crore for all the 317 toll plazas, revenue loss of projects on public-privatepartnership (PPP) is estimated around Rs 922 crore. “The balance estimated loss of about Rs 290 crore is in respect of public funded/annuity projects, which vest in NHAI and for which the compensation amount does not have to be paid out,” the highway authority says in its proposal. At present, the contract conditions for each project specify how interim compensation can be paid in case of such loss due to government decision and how the tolling period of a project can be extended. But NHAI said working out such details of each project would be cumbersome and there is a fear that there would be huge claims and litigations by private players at a later stage. NHAI added that all those operators who take the onetime compensation will execute an agreement with the authority stating that they will forgo any other claim, including that for extension of toll period. Nickell Robey-Coleman Authentic Jersey