INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
PM GatiShakti is likely to be implemented from the next financial yearNew Delhi: The implementation framework for PM GatiShakti national
master plan is taking its final shape at a faster pace and after April 1 this year, every infrastructure project is expected to route
through the network planning group (NPG) constituted under this initiative, a top government official said.The PM GatiShakti plan was
announced last year with an aim to break departmental silos and bring in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects
with a view to address the issues of multi-modal and last-mile connectivities.This will help in bringing down the logistics cost, Secretary
in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Anurag Jain said."Things are in readiness
the empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOS) and NPG are constituted and the TSU (Technical Support Unit) is more or less in place
So the structure is there," he said.The secretary added that the department has conducted one round of training with the departments of the
government of India and hold regional conferences across the states, barring the North-East, where it would happen soon."So we are on track
We have asked states to put in their layers (on the PM GatiShakti national master plan portal)
So we are targeting to get all the layers (like land records) of the states also on the portal by March 31...What we intend to do is that
after April 1, 2022, every project which is more than Rs 500 crore and is an infrastructure project will be routed through this (NPG)," Mr
Jain said.The process, the secretary informed, would help in making the plan more efficient and effective. NPG consists of heads of the
network planning wing of respective infrastructure ministries and it will assist the EGOS, which is headed by the cabinet secretary
EGOS consists of secretaries of 18 ministries as members and Head of Logistics Division, under the DPIIT, as member convenor.NPG will clear
the projects as all infrastructure projects would have to come here."Instead of departments making the DPR (detailed project reports)
directly, at the planning stage, they will approach the NPG," he said after its clearance, the project would follow the normal procedure of
approval by the finance ministry of the Cabinet, depending upon the projects.Explaining it further, the secretary said that suppose railway
is planning a project on a specified route, so by putting the relevant information on the portal before finalising the DPR, railways can see
whether the proposed track is crossing through public land or private property or forest or canal or highways.The secretary informed that
they have pursued all the states to put information on the portal as soon as possible, and digitised land records will really help in
this.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is a transformative approach for
economic growth and sustainable development and is driven by seven engines: roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and
logistics infrastructure.
