All 23 cities in smart city list submit revised urban plans seeking central assistance
All the 23 cities and towns from as many States and Union Territories that were given an opportunity to participate in the ‘Fast Track Competition’ under Smart City Mission submitted their revised plans today. According to a Urban Development Ministry release, the deadline for submission of Smart city proposals ends today. The revised plans of these 23 cities, including 15 capitals, would be evaluated by May 15 this year and those meeting the benchmark set by the winning cities in the first round of Smart City Challenge Competition will be announced for extending central assistance. Bhubaneswar was ranked number one and Bhopal stood last in the first list of 20 mission cities announced earlier on January 28, 2016. Since only 12 States and UTs were represented in the first list, the Ministry offered another opportunity to the unrepresented 23 States and UTs to participate in Fast Track Competition in pursuance of the principle of urban transformation across the country. After evaluation of Smart City Plans of 97 cities in the first round of competition and announcement of the first list, the remaining were informed of the deficiencies in the plans. The inadequacies identified included, lacunae in assessment of cities, disconnect between citizens’ aspirations and vision documents, disconnect between vision document and SWOT analysis, too ambitious nature of plans, mismatch between costs and resource mobilization, lacunae in implementation plans and result orientation. A day after the announcement of the first list of 20 smart cities, Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha had interacted with the Chief Secretaries of all the States and UTs and Municipal Commissioners of all 97 mission cities on the principles of preparation of smart city plans and urged those cities not included in the first list not to lose heart and instead to revisit their plans for addressing deficiencies. During the video-conferencing by Cabinet Secretary, several cities admitted to lacunae in different aspects of plans and assured to correct the same. Urban Development Ministry held a Consultation Workshop for the 23 cities and towns participating in Fast Track Competition besides holding several Studio Workshops wherein respective Smart City Plans were ‘read out to rectify’. The 23 cities that submitted their revised Smart City Plans under Fast Track Competition along with respective rank in the first round of competition are: Warangal, Telangana (23), Chandigarh (24), Lucknow (29), New Town in Kolkata (30), Goa (32), Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh (39); Dharmashala (59), Faridabad (60); Raipur, Chattisgarh (62); Bhagalpur, Bihar (65), Shillong (70); Namchi, Sikkim (71), Port Blair (73), Diu, Daman & Diu (74), Oulgaret, Puducherry (75), Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli (78), Imphal, Manipal (83), Ranchi (84), Agartala (85), Kohima 90), Kavaratti, Lakshadweep (95) and Dehradun (97). The regular second round of City Challenge Competition for the remaining 97 cities included in the Smart City Mission got underway on April 1st and these cities will have to submit revised smart city plans by the June end this year. The 23 cities which were included in the Fast Track Competition and failed to be selected can also join this second round of competition, the release said. While 20 smart cities were selected during 2015-16 as per the Mission Guidelines, another 40 would be selected during 2016-17 and the remaining 40 during the next financial year. Each city selected in different rounds of competition will be given central assistance of Rs 200 cr in the first year and Rs 100 cr each during the subsequent three financial years. State governments and respective urban local bodies will provide matching funds to the same amount. Accordingly, each mission city would get a total assistance of Rs 1,000 cr over a five-year period.
Centre agrees to four-laning of highway Itanagar to Banderdewa project
The Centre has agreed to sanction the four-laning of Itanagar to Banderdewa highway project and three fly-overs here as proposed by the Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, a union government official said. V K Rajawat, Chief Engineer associated with the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, made this statement during his meeting with the chief minister here yesterday, an official release said. Rajawat was on a one-day visit to the state capital to inspect the ongoing repairing and maintenance work of Itanagar to Banderdewa road and nearby areas. The project would be sanctioned within one month time as and when the DPR would be received from the state government and work could start from September next, he said. He also said that considering the strategic locations and sensitiveness of the border state, the Centre had handed over two important border roads from Joram to Koloriang and Dimwe to Hawai to Border Road Organizations (BRO) at the request of the chief minister.
PAC wants PPP projects under CAG, to sound out audit watchdog
The Public Accounts Committee strongly favours empowering the Comptroller and Auditor General to examine investment, expenditure and profit aspects in public-private partnership (PPP) projects and has decided to call the full CAG before it soon to discuss how to technically empower the audit watchdog in this regard. The move is significant as it comes in the backdrop of corruption allegations in various PPP projects in the past. The private sector has so far been resisting the move but the committee’s argument is that since public money is being spent even in PPP projects, it needs to be safeguarded. The PAC headed by Congress leader K V Thomas has decided to call a meeting of the full CAG, most likely this month, after which it will also be calling representatives from ministries. “The stand of private parties is that the CAG has no business to look into their transactions. PAC, however, strongly feels that wherever the government money is involved, the CAG indeed has a role to play. Since government money is also involved in PPP projects, the entire transaction has to be examined by the CAG,” a PAC member told PTI on the condition of anonymity. The issue was vigorously debated at a recent meeting of the PAC. Under the PPP mode, the project is implemented based on a contract or concession agreement between a government or statutory entity on the one side and a private sector company on the other side for delivering an infrastructure service on payment of user charges. PAC’s view that the CAG should also start examining public-private partnership (PPP) projects is not a new one. Former PAC Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi, a veteran BJP leader, had earlier also said that the CAG hould be given powers to look into the functioning of PPP projects, societies and NGOs. His argument was that every single paisa going through the budget should be looked into by the CAG. The PAC headed by Thomas has now decided to discuss in detail the manner in which the CAG can examine transactions in PPP projects and how the CAG can be technically assisted to do so. “We are keen that a mechanism is put in place whereby the CAG gets the needed the technical assistance to examine the PPP projects. We believe that the CAG should look into the entire gamut of of PPP projects–investment, expenditure and profit,” said the member. The member said that one argument from the private sector is that the CAG can at best only look into the profit part. “They also argue that only the ministry can look into the PPP projects and not the CAG. There is also a view that the move to involve CAG into the scrutiny of PPP projects will discourage foreign investment. That is why we have decided to call a full CAG meeting to discuss all these aspects,” the source said. In a report presented in the Lok Sabha in 2014, the CAG had made a case for comprehensive audit of public-private partnership projects by it. The auditor wanted the government to insert relevant clauses in PPP contracts for this purpose. The report had maintained that under PPP projects, private players use assets or funds held by the government and render services within a pre-set revenue-sharing agreement and hence a comprehensive audit was necessary in order to ascertain the project’s performance in delivery of services and its adherence to contractual obligations. The same year, the CAG had made some adverse comments about PPP projects in some key infrastructure sectors including the Mumbai airport and several railways projects. In 2011 earlier, the then Planning Commission had, however, voiced reservations against CAG scrutiny on the role of private sector players implementing the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects. A bill seeking to expand the scope the Comptroller and Auditor General of India to scrutinise PPP projects besides regulators, including SEBI, TRAI and IRDA, was also under the consideration of the Finance Ministry then. The bill sought to replace the CAG Act, 1971 and expand its scope. However, it could not take off.
Centre to fund incomplete projects of JNURM
The Centre will fund all incomplete projects approved under the phased-out JNURM during 2005-12 in which 50 per cent finances have been released and progress achieved, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was told at a meeting held here today. The funding will be done under the newly-launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), she was told by officials at the meeting. Launched in 2015-16, the total allocation for J&K for the AMRUT mission for the period of five years is Rs 744 crore. At the meeting on urban development, Mehbooba asked policymakers to think out-of-box to address emerging challenges of urbanization in the state as she underlined the need for proper planning and management to ensure planned development, basic amenities and a decent urban life to its people. Expressing concern over the present state of urban planning and management, the Chief Minister called for a systemic overhaul and suggested a series of measures to provide efficient infrastructure,solid waste management and building capacities of municipalities so that the minimum service guarantees to the people are provided in a hassle-free manner.
Roads ministry targets laying over 40 km of roads every day in 2016-17
The road transport and highways ministry has set an ambitious target of laying more than 40 km of roads every day in 2016-17, more than double the current pace. A senior official said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct 8,000 km in the fiscal year while the Industrial Development Corporation (NHIDCL), which lays roads in hilly areas, will construct 7,000 km. The roads award target has been set at 25,000 km against the 10,000 km awarded last year, the official added. “The construction target has been set at 15,000 km against the 6,000 km constructed last year. However, the budget for the current year has set the construction target at 10,000 km,” the official said. “We are confident of doing much better than the budget target set by the finance minister.” Of the total length of national highways targeted for award, 15,000 km would be awarded by NHAI and 10,000 km by NHIDCL, the ministry said in a statement. In 2015-16, the ministry was able to award 10,000 km of highway contracts worth Rs 1lakh crore. In the current budget, the road ministry has got an allocation of Rs 57,000 crore and NHAI has been allowed to raise tax-free bonds of Rs 15,000 crore. The ministry is also looking at additional options to raise funds through EPFO and LIC and by leasing out existing projects on tolloperate-transfer (TOT) model. “We are looking at awarding contracts worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore. We are already in talks with LIC and EPFO to raise Rs 1 lakh crore. The remaining amount would be raised through leasing out our already constructed national highways to pension fund and PE players under the TOT model,” the official said. ELECTRONIC TOLL: NHAI is making cashless payment mechanism (FASTag) operational at 275 toll plazas from Monday. FASTag will offer near non-stop movement of vehicles through toll plazas and convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter operable electronic toll collection services. India has 350 toll plazas. FASTag will become operational at the remaining toll plazas within a year. NHAI will give 10% cash back incentive on toll payments for FASTag users. According to a study by Transport Corporation of India and IIM Kolkata, Rs 60,000 crore is lost on account of delays at various check posts. NHAI has tied up with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank for the service. FASTag has a one-time fee of Rs 200 and is affixed on the wind screen of the vehicle.It employs RFID technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid account linked to it. FASTag will be available on sale from selected toll plazas on national highways and designated branches of participating banks. These can be recharged by making payments through cheque or online. The minimum recharge amount is Rs 100 and the maximum is Rs 1 lakh for commercial vehicles.
Rs 11.4 lakh-crore worth projects stalled till March: ICRA
Owing to unfavourable market conditions, increased funding constraints and inadequate raw material linkages, nearly Rs 11.4 trillion worth of infrastructure projects were stalled as of March 31, says ICRA. According to the rating agency, though the number of stalled projects started declining since FY14, it took pace from the second half of 2015-16. Majority of the projects, which were stalled were from the private sector including from the sectors like steel, cement, aluminium, among others. “The Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of the government helped in resolving 353 projects worth Rs 11.7 trillion stalled over the last 3 years, which were particularly in power sector, but addition to projects accepted by PMG outpaced projects resolved,” ICRABSE 1.27 % said. The Group, which was set up in January 2013 in the Cabinet Secretariat to revive projects both in the public and private sector, had accepted 743 projects with an estimated cumulative investment of Rs 31 trillion till February this year. According to ICRA, another 390 projects with a cumulative investment of over Rs 19 trillion are still facing hurdles. “The growing number of stalled projects in the last two quarters, which are already high at 8 per cent of GDP is a matter of concern. While many projects were stuck for want of land or clearances, with the changing macro-economic scenario and weak commodity prices, viability and promoters’ interest to continue with the projects, have also declined,” ICRA Senior Vice-President Rohit Inamdar told reporters during a webinar. This apart, funding issues have also remained pertinent for infrastructure sector, which comprises the largest share of stressed advances for public sector banks – the primary lenders for infrastructure projects, he said. “Apart from reviving stalled projects, the implementation of the proposed plug-and-play model, which aims at awarding major projects after acquiring land and the requisite approvals, is expected to significantly reduce execution delays and attract higher private participation in the sector,” Inamdar said. He further noted that the recovery in the sector will be gradual as most players are still burdened with leveraged balance sheets even as the volume of stalled or slow moving projects remains sizeable. “Further, structural constraints like uncertainty in land acquisition, delays in approvals and inadequacy of long-term funding avenues, if not tackled expeditiously, will slow down recovery in the infrastructure sector,” Inamdar added.
E-toll starts from Monday! Now, make cashless payments at 275 toll plazas
You will be able to zip through toll plazas across the country from Monday as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is making cashless payment mechanism (FASTag) operational at 275 toll plazas FASTag will offer near non-stop movement of vehicles through toll plazas and convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter operable electronic toll collection services. India currently has 350 toll plazas. FASTag will become operational at the remaining toll plazas within a year. NHAI will give 10% cash back incentive on toll payments for FASTag users. The cash back amount for a particular month will be credited back to the FASTag account at the beginning of the next month. A Transport Corporation of India and IIM Kolkata study said that Rs 60,000 crore was lost on account of various delays at check posts NHAI has tied up with ICICI bank and Axis bank for the service. FASTag has a onetime fee of Rs.200 and is affixed on the wind screen of the vehicle. It employs RFID technology for making toll payments directly from the pre-paid account linked to it. FASTag will be available on sale from selected toll plazas on national highways and designated branches of participating banks. These can be recharged by making payments through cheque or online. The minimum recharge amount is Rs100 and can be up to Rs.1 lakh for commercial vehicles.
Cash flow for construction sector to improve in FY17: Report
Cash flow for construction companies is likely to improve in 2016-17 as most of the orders procured in the last two years are expected to be executed this fiscal, says a study by India Ratings (Ind-Ra). According to the study, companies in the construction sector continued to witness negative cash flows from operations in 2015-16, which is likely to improve gradually to near zero levels this fiscal as more orders procured during the last two years are executed. “Competitive intensity had reduced for new orders over the last two years and hence margins on such orders are expected to be higher,” the ratings agency said. Order inflow in the construction sector is likely to grow as the government has increased outlay for highways and railways in the Union Budget 2016-17. The government increased allocation for highways by 28 per cent and targets to award 10,000 kms of highways in 2016-17. The government has also laid out ambitious targets for spending on other infrastructure sectors like irrigation, drinking water supply, housing and power supply. “Prudent accumulation of orders with close correlation between capacity to execute and order book size will be crucial to improvement in the cash flows and credit metrics of individual companies,” it said. Ind-Ra further said it expects companies to focus on margins and funding while bidding for new projects and to limit their order books near the current level as a multiple of revenue, which will provide for a moderate growth in revenue along with improvement in cash flow margins. According to the agency, the negative cash flows from operations are a legacy of the aggressive bidding seen during FY10-FY12, when companies focused on building their order books. “In such orders, EBITDA margins were very close or even lower than retention money margins in some cases, leading to negative operational cash flows. Also, the companies did not focus on funding by the customer, resulting in long receivables and inventory holding periods,” the study said. It further said construction sector’s receivable days has widened by 33 per cent to 141 days and inventory holding period has risen by close to 9 per cent to 124 days in the last five years. “Construction sector is likely to see gradual improvement in FY17, even as liquidity remains weak due to negative cash flows,” Ind-Ra said.
Punjab CM Parkash Badal approves Rs 750 crore for strengthening link roads
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today approved Rs 750 crore for the repair and strengthening of 6,500 km link road in the state. While chairing a meeting to review the progress of strengthening of ongoing road infrastructure projects at his residence, Badal finalised repair, widening and upgradation of 6500 km link road stretches in the state, a release said here. He gave directions to the officers of Public Works Department to ensure the construction as early as possible. He said that the project of connecting all towns and cities to the lane roads were going on war footing and the repair, widening and refurbishment of link road work should be executed on full swing. It was informed in the meeting that the work would be started before May 20. Meanwhile, the chief minister also took stock of the ongoing Rs 1115 crore project that will strengthen the road infrastructure of 7,825 Kms of link road and directed the authorities to finish this project before the end of June. Additional Chief Secretary of PWD informed that more than 56 per cent of construction under this project have been completed while the remaining work would also be finished within stipulated time frame.
Progress on ease of doing construction business in Delhi and Mumbai reviewed
he three Municipal Corporations of Delhi have reported substantial progress in respect of ensuring single window clearences for construction projects in the stipulated 30 days time. Shri Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (Urban Development) and Shri Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) today reviewed progress towards enhancing ease of doing business in Delhi and Mumbai with all the concerned agencies. They appreciated the 4-page Common Application Form introduced by the MCDs of North, South and East for enabling single window clearnces aimed at enhancing the ease of doing construction business in the national capital. It was further informed that while the common form enabling online approvals by other agencies like Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Urban Arts Commission, National Monuments Authority, applicants may be required to furnish even much less information if approvals of such agencies are not required. Appreciating Airports Authority of India, National Monuments Authority etc for coming out with Color Coded Maps empowering respective urban local bodies to accord approvals, Shri Rajiv Gauba directed all the concerned to make it clear by explaining in details areas exempted for obtaining their approvals and otherwise. The MCDs have reported that 10 agencies including DUAC, Heritage Conservation Committee, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Jal Board etc have already been integrated with the Common Application Form thereby doing away with the need for the applicant to separately approach these agencies for no objection certificates. Integration of Airports Authority of India into the online process will be ensured this week and tree cutting approvals by the end of this month. It was decided in the meeting that Delhi Government would be requested to direct DISCOMs to ensure necessary approvals within 15 days of receiving applications. Shri Rajiv Gauba suggested that with the introduction of Common Application Form for construction projects, urban local bodies should stop receiving applications in the old format. Officials of Mumbai , who participated in the review through video conference, have also reported substantial progress and assured that total integration would be ensured by the end of April. Municipal Commissioners of urban local bodies of Delhi, representatives of other concerned agencies and senior officials of Ministry of Urban Development and DIPP participated in the review meeting.