IT-based monitoring for highway works likely

CP Joshi, Union minister for road transport and highways, who replaced Kamal Nath after the recent cabinet reshuffle, displayed political acumen at his first interaction with the press.

Evidently executing instructions from top UPA honchos, he did not react to any reference made by few overeager scribes regarding the tussle between the ministry and the Planning Commission. But his business acumen will soon be put to test.

To begin with, immediately after taking charge of the ministry, Joshi announced that the implementation aspect will be on his radar and information technology tools will be used for monitoring the day to day progress. “Real-time monitoring of the progress in construction is required. Internet and IT-based tools need to be used for it,” said Joshi.

The ministry is also likely to set up interactive mechanisms and making the functioning of the ministry people-oriented. “Creating a feedback mechanism and improvising, based on the feedback received from the grass root, is very important,” Joshi added.

On being prodded about the ministry’s differences with the Planning Commission over bidding-related issues, Joshi was tartness personified. “Don’t put your words in my mouth,” he said.
So will there be a ‘Baalu-isation’ of the ministry, when its policy affairs were actually being handled by the Planning Commission during UPA-I under DMK leader T R Baalu… only time will tell.

In 2008-09, only three projects, spanning 600 km projects, were awarded. In contrast, since May 2009, 51 contracts worth Rs50,000 crore have been awarded and the ministry wants to end the fiscal with another Rs36,000 crore. In the last few months however, the bidding scenario was marred due to the CBI raids on the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) owing to allegations of corruption.

Experts, meanwhile, feel that there is a need to revive the bidding process immediately. “The first job of the new minister should be to put the bidding back on tracks. A short-term target needs to be set up to clear the 50 projects that are in backlog currently,” said Kuljit Singh, partner, (infrastructure), Ernst & Young.

The highway construction sector, in addition to revival of the bidding process, wants the new minister to take up issues such as arbitration and settlement of final bills.

“First of all, processes have to be speeded up. Pending issues relating to bidding, arbitration and settlement of final bills need to be expedited so that the concessionaire interest and financial stability can be retained. Result-oriented implementation is the major challenge for the minister,” said M Murali, director, National Highways Builders Federation. A total of Rs9,980 crore worth fund is held up in arbitration over the last ten years. In most cases, interest is more than the principal.

Another major sector that will require ministerial level intervention is setting up the right funding model for the greenfield highway development. With the realty-based funding of the 18,000 km greenfield expressway network already put on the backburner, new model needs to be derived soon to avoid cost overlays.