In a bid to drive out the highways sector from a severe financial crunch, the Economic Survey proposed to ease exit norms for developers to free up equity for new projects.

“In current market conditions, these firms are unable to raise new equity. Exit route needs to be eased so that promoters can sell equity positions after construction, passing on all benefits and responsibilities to entities that step in,” the survey, presented in Parliament on Wednesday said.

After a concerted push from the road transport ministry, the finance ministry has agreed to consider offering concessions to stuck highway projects under the public private partnership (PPP) mode.

The 555-km Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad project from which the developer GMR Infrastructure pulled out in early January citing huge delays in clearances, has now got all requisite approvals from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). According to sources, with Gujarat, one of the two states through which the highway passes, also giving forest clearance, the MoEF has given the green signal for the project.

The Rajasthan portion of the six-laning project was cleared earlier and in a meeting today, the Gujarat portion was also approved, paving the way for the project to be cleared from the angles of both environment and forest regulations, a ministry official said.

The troubled roads sector can expect a relief package from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which has called a meeting of the road transport ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday.

Government sources say that the meeting is likely to discuss the bottlenecks that have led to a slowdown in road projects and may work out an interim relief to projects that were awarded on premium to make them viable.

The troubled roads sector can expect a relief package from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which has called a meeting of the road transport ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday.

Government sources say that the meeting is likely to discuss the bottlenecks that have led to a slowdown in road projects and may work out an interim relief to projects that were awarded on premium to make them viable.

New NHAI guidelines delay work on road projects

New National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) guidelines making forest clearance and acquisition of minimum quantum of land mandatory before inviting bids is delaying road projects to be executed in the public-private partnership mode. As per the guidelines, a project will be cleared for tendering only after the authorities concerned complete the process of acquisition under Section 3(A) of the National Highways Act and acquire at least 60 per cent of the land under Section 3(D) of the Act.

JAIPUR: In a major relief to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in Rajasthan, the forest advisory committee (FAC) on February 4 granted clearance for widening of the Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway. With the approval, work on the project is expected to begin soon.

FAC, the statutory body for advising on forest clearances, has given the long pending nod for diversion of 78 hectare of forest land to widen the Kishangarh-Udaipur- Ahmedabad section of NH 79A, NH 79, NH 76 and NH8 from four lane to six lane in favour of NHAI. The permission was granted after the concessionaire in the project, GMR, terminated its contract in the absence of forest clearance.

Infra ministers, govt bodies join the chorus as murmurs about corruption resurface

When Jairam Ramesh was replaced as environment minister some 18 months ago, loud sighs of relief from industry greeted the news. Ramesh, in the short period at the helm of the ministry, had acquired a reputation for inflexibility, and many started blaming him for stalled projects and declining investments, some even holding his ‘activist’ zeal responsible for the ensuing economic slowdown.

90 Trees Cut Near Butler Palace

Lucknow: A Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday restrained the state authorities from felling trees in the city for widening of roads. The court also asked if the authorities have any plan to plant new trees at alternative places to compensate for the trees cut down. Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice VK Dixit passed the order on a PIL against cutting of trees in the Butler Palace area and Tilak Marg on Dalibagh, but it is likely to come as a deterrent in other instances of tree felling as well. Wideninf of NH24, for instance, has already taken a toll on some 8,200 trees.

Days after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) dragged the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to the apex court alleging delays in granting of forest clearance, the ministry has granted forest clearance to the 555-km Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad National Highway widening project that had first sparked the conflict.

While the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has recommended the project, it is not amused with NHAI's rather public finger pointing at MoEF. Minutes of the FAC meeting held on January 21-22 observe how MoEF has been "blamed unpleasantly" for delays.