So, we’re getting better roads. Here
are some stumbling blocks
DNA, August 05, 2014
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By Pradeep S Mehta
Look before leaping ? Laws
governing land acquisition, environmental clearances and the
modalities of PPP will have to
be looked into again to make this ambitious road project a
success
It is a no-brainer that roads lead to development and the
thrust of the Rajasthan government to build more of them is
more than welcome. In her budget speech, chief minister
Vasundhara Raje quoted the noted US President John Kennedy’s
saying: “America is great because of her roads”.
In a recent cabinet meeting in Bikaner it was announced that
20,000 kms roads will be developed over four years at the
rate of 5,000 kms every year. The government will also build
link roads from villages and major tourist places to connect
with the state highways network. Thrust on the rural road
network is crucial and we have witnessed focused attention
in the past through the Pradhan Mantri and Mukhya Mantri
Gramin Sadak Yojnas, but much more needs to be done.
It is the local rural roads that provide the critical
value-enhancing link, as a product moves up the value chain
from the farm to the market. Much of our horticultural
produce just wastes away without the ability to move it to
processing centres. Accessibility of citizens to nearest
towns, markets, health facilities etc are essential to help
the economy and society. For example, many a time people
have died due to lack of swift access to medical facilities
from remote areas.
There are various dimensions to this project, which are laid
out for deeper consideration by the policy makers. First,
the issue of land acquisition and environmental clearances,
and much of the proposed road network will face these
problems. Unless the current draconian land acquisition law
is amended it will be a huge problem. Whether the Central
government does it or not, the state can do it as they are
amending the labour laws. Fortunately, for environment
clearances linear projects like roads, gas or water or
electricity transmission lines face lesser hassles than
factories etc. And such an amendment will have spill over
effects for manufacturing also, which is essential if new
means of livelihood have to be created.
The second issue is that of funding. The approach sought is
to build it on a PPP basis, and to establish a road
regulator to oversee the functioning. Rajasthan can take on
board the sad experiences of the Government of India to
avoid the pitfalls. Many of our highway projects have been
abandoned by the developers due to various reasons, one of
which is the environmental and forest clearance. What
Rajasthan should do is to float special purpose vehicles to
get all the clearances and then sell the equity of the
company to a private developer at a premium. However,
transparency will need to be ensured so that crony
capitalism does not infest the process.
Furthermore, the design of roads should be made in a manner
that it serves the wider public interest. We should not land
up in situations like the ill designed flyover at the
Station Crossing in Jaipur where the flyover has been built
from MI Road to the railway station, rather than curving
into Sawai Jaisingh Highway, which has much higher volume of
traffic. One cannot restore the eggs, as the omelette has
already been made.
The third issue is of road safety. Such conditions will need
to be built into the contracts that the developer will have
to ensure standards of highest safety to pedestrians,
cyclists and slow moving traffic. It should also provide
standing facilities to provide succour to accident victims
who die in the platinum hour. One is glad to hear that the
state government is already planning a big thrust on road
safety with an allocation of funds worth Rs100 crore, which
will also include carrying out third party audits of the
existing road network. Such audits will reveal imperfections
and enable the state government to carry out the
rectifications, to the best extent possible.
The fourth issue is that of intra and inter-state road
transport, where a state monopoly has been flourishing. In
its early months of coming into power the state government
had announced a policy to liberalise road transport by
allowing private sector to operate on long distances. It is
long overdue. The neighbouring MP government has scrapped
its state road transport corporation, and opened up
regulated transport in the state with transparent bids to
award routes etc. Oversight of their operations can be
strengthened, but yet there are good learnings which the
state government could look into.
The Motor Vehicles Act which governs both road transport and
road safety will need to be tweaked at the state level to
allow smooth implementation of measures to promote both
private participation and road safety. The law is under
amendment to strengthen the road safety dimension but that
has been on the drawing board for a long time.
It would make great sense if the state government drafts a
comprehensive policy for roads, transport and road safety,
and establishes one composite independent regulator to deal
with all the three dimensions under one roof. Such a move
will ensure coherence rather than face turf issues with
different agencies governing the three different aspects of
smoother and safer transportation to the citizens of the
state. Such a regulator will be insulated from different
line ministries and thus can be more effective.
The writer is Secretary General,
CUTS International (views expressed are his own)
This news can
also be viewed at: http://epaper.dnaindia.com/
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