PM holds meet to fix FY15 infra goals
27 July 2014 11:05 PM GMT
Planning Commission Secretary Sindhushree Khullar made a 15-page presentation on the performance of core infrastructure ministries in 2013-14 and deliberated on the targets suggested by the ministries for the current fiscal.
The Modi Government is keen to speed up infrastructure development and investment to boost economic growth, which remained at sub 5 per cent during the previous two fiscals. Secretaries and senior officials from nine infrastructure ministries — power, road transport, shipping, civil aviation, coal, petroleum, railways, telecom and renewable energy — were present in the meeting.
Top officials from Rural Development and Environment and Forest ministries also attended. The Commission has proposed laying of 300 km new railway track during the current fiscal. Indian railways laid 450 km of new track in 2013-14, which was short of the targeted 500 km. Similarly, the plan panel proposed to set a target of 700 km for doubling of rail tracks in the current fiscal against 900 km targeted in 2013-14.
For the civil aviation sector, the Commission has proposed to lower the investment target from Rs 1,008 crore in previous fiscal to Rs 934 crore in the current fiscal. The investment realisation was about 55 per cent of the target in 2013-14. The plan to develop airports in non-metro cities was also discussed at the meeting.
As many as 189 highway projects (costing Rs 1,80,000 crore) are stuck due to problems of land acquisition, delays in forest and environment clearances, non-transfer of defence land and hurdles in rail over-bridges. The issue of coal shortage was also taken up at the meeting and the fuel scarcity being faced by the power sector was discussed.
The Modi Government is keen to speed up infrastructure development and investment to boost economic growth, which remained at sub 5 per cent during the previous two fiscals. Secretaries and senior officials from nine infrastructure ministries — power, road transport, shipping, civil aviation, coal, petroleum, railways, telecom and renewable energy — were present in the meeting.
Top officials from Rural Development and Environment and Forest ministries also attended. The Commission has proposed laying of 300 km new railway track during the current fiscal. Indian railways laid 450 km of new track in 2013-14, which was short of the targeted 500 km. Similarly, the plan panel proposed to set a target of 700 km for doubling of rail tracks in the current fiscal against 900 km targeted in 2013-14.
For the civil aviation sector, the Commission has proposed to lower the investment target from Rs 1,008 crore in previous fiscal to Rs 934 crore in the current fiscal. The investment realisation was about 55 per cent of the target in 2013-14. The plan to develop airports in non-metro cities was also discussed at the meeting.
As many as 189 highway projects (costing Rs 1,80,000 crore) are stuck due to problems of land acquisition, delays in forest and environment clearances, non-transfer of defence land and hurdles in rail over-bridges. The issue of coal shortage was also taken up at the meeting and the fuel scarcity being faced by the power sector was discussed.
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