The committee on infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday asked the ministry of road transport and highways to aim at spending Rs 1,70,000 crore (Rs 1,700 billion) on upgrading highways over the next seven years.
The committee also asked the ministry to take a decision on enhancing the powers of the National Highways Authority of India to help it raise funds for executing projects.
"This (the Rs 1,70,000 crore spending) will obviously entail a substantial increase in funding, and adequate budgetary support will be given," Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said after a meeting chaired by the prime minister.
The ministry will submit a detailed proposal on projects planned over the next seven years to the Cabinet committee on economic affairs by April.
The projects will be under Phases III and IV of the National Highway Development Programme, whichinvolves widening of over 50,000 kilometres of highways and construction of 1,000 kilometres of expressways.
More powers will be granted to the NHAI to go in for market borrowings and absorption of external assistance to equip it to handle the large number of projects it is handling.
"The aim is to set up a multi-disciplinary body where NHAI would have a separate board of independent directors," Ahluwalia said.
The ministry has also been asked to prepare a model concession agreement. "The ministry has promised to put up 30 BOT projects for bidding by July 2005. The model should be ready by April before these contracts are given out," he said.
Ahluwalia also announced the setting up of an empowered committee of secretaries that will make recommendations by April on resolving the inter-ministerial problems that result in project delays.
He said the ministry has also been asked to develop a mechanism for compiling better traffic data and an inventory build-up. "After April, a quarterly review of the performance of the ministry will be taken up, where every aspect will be monitored at regular intervals," he added.
Ahluwalia said the ministry should also come up with a more effective dispute resolution mechanism. No decision on a regulator for the road sector was taken as the Planning Commission was working on a separate paper.
