New bid to fast-track key projects

New Delhi: Aiming to fast-track clearances to several big ticket and sensitive infrastructure projects, a high-level panel of secretaries has suggested to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that there should be an integrated online single window system for clearing all such projects, a move which will ensure that such clearances are granted within a year’s time. Normally, any infrastructure project coming up in forest or coastal areas requires multi-level clearances like environmental, forest, from wild life boards, and even from maritime authorities. This takes any thing from two to three years, thus delaying projects in the bargain.

Delay in implementation of infrastructure projects has been a key concern for Mr Modi, who on a monthly basis conducts meetings with top bureaucrats of all Central ministries as well as chief secretaries of various states to sort out roadblocks being faced by major projects.

Sources privy to the development told this newspaper that if the proposal is okayed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), then it would be a shot-in-the-arm for several infrastructure projects, which have been hanging fire due to delay in clearances. The group of secretaries made a detailed presentation before the Prime Minister, underlining the importance of creating an integrated single window online system which will significantly reduce the time taken in giving clearances to key projects.

Delay in environmental clearances of hundreds of coal mines of Coal India Ltd (CIL) during 2009-10, had led to acute shortage of the fossil fuel to thermal power plants.

Later, the UPA dispensation had come up with a case to case basis criteria for giving environmental clearances to CIL projects, yet owing to multi-level clearances needed for infrastructure projects, these were still taking time. The NDA Government after assuming power in May 2014, had claimed that there was better coordination between coal, steel, mining and environment ministries regarding expediting clearances to CIL projects and supply of coal to power plants has substantially improved in the last couple of years.

Still, if the suggestion given by the panel of secretaries of setting up an integrated online single window clearance system comes through, then it would be a revolutionary step. Incidentally, the suggestion of increasing retirement age of doctors and also the one on preponing the presentation of Union Budget, had been made by a high level group of secretaries, which were later accepted by the Centre.