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Plan panel moots diesel, petrol cess till 2004; Expressway Authority to be set up

Planning Commission deputy chairman K C Pant today said the cess on diesel and petrol should stay till the year 2004.

This will help finance the integrated road project, including the proposed cross-country expressways (otherwise known as the Golden Quadrilateral), he said.

Pant took part in the seventh meeting of the taskforce on infrastructure in New Delhi today.

The taskforce in principle decided to set up a separate Expressway Authority, said Surface Transport minister Thambi Durai.

The meeting reviewed the presentation of the sub-groups on different important issues of the expressways project regarding technical, legal and financing strategy.

The National Highway Authority of India made a presentation of the project and the progress made so far. The entire total integrated project will be completed by the year 2004.

The Golden Quadrilateral includes the Delhi-Calcutta stretch of 1469 km, Delhi-Bombay highway of 1,936 km, Calcutta-Madras of 1,745 km and Madras-Bombay route of 1,302 km.

The total length of the highways is 14,585 km. Golden quadrilateral is 12 per cent of this and about 8.5 per cent is four-laned.

The highways will be converted into four-laned expressways by 2004, Pant said.

He said out of 5,952 km of the golden quadrilateral, 716 km is under implementation of the NHAI and ministry of surface transport.

This part of the project will be completed by 2000 and finally by 2001.

The Golden Quadrilateral project will require financing of the order of Rs 210 billion. The total costs of the integrated project are being worked out, Pant said.

He said Rs 30 billion in the current financial year will come from cess on diesel and petroleum.

N K Singh, secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, said funding from multilateral agencies was being sought for the purpose. This includes the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The next meeting of the taskforce will be held on April 14.

Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar is the other member of the taskforce.

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