The road ahead
V. Shankar Aiyer
India Today
June 7, 1999
Title: The road ahead
Author: V. Shankar Aiyer
Publication: India Today
Date: June 7, 1999
It is not often that Ratan Tata agrees to preside over a public
function. It is rarer for him to invite a politician to tea. Last
month the chairman of the Tata Group made an exception. Not only did
Tata deign to inaugurate a new flyover in Navi Mumbai but also invited
Maharashtra Public Works Minister Nitin Gadkari over for "a cup of
tea" because of the respect and regard" he had for him.
The regard is well placed. Gadkari and his team have virtually
changed the public perception of the much-maligned PWD. Consider
this: the lowest quote to build the Mumbai Pune Expressway was Rs
3,600 crore from Reliance Industries. The expressway is nearly 40 per
cent complete and will be motorable by January 26,2000. For only Rs
1,600 crore, maybe even lower.
So, how did the PWD get it right? "When I saw projects in Thailand
and Malaysia, I realised that we too could do it in India," says
Gadkari. Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) CMD
R.C. Sinha says, "We decided that the contractors, the consultants and
the corporation were partners in development to ensure quality and
timely completion of the projects."
Gadkari and team-essentially Sinha and P.L. Bongirwar, the technical
expert and joint managing director of MSRDC-sat down and examined the
reasons why projects got delayed. Gadkari says, "Whenever 1 asked the
contractors why something couldn't be done faster they would cite a
rule or a regulation. Most of these rules had not been updated for
decades. I have junked 70 regulations." One of them dating back to
the 1950s, for instance, stipulated that all roads must be able to
bear the load of a 60-tonne tank. But it was found that the army no
longer had 60-tonne tanks and that by modern standards the load had to
be factored across the axles which brought it down to 20 tonnes.
The obsolete rules were not the only stumbling block. Gadkari
discovered that while Rs 14,000 crore was required for road
development in the state, only Rs 1,400 crore was available. How
could a government strapped for cash undertake such big projects ',
Gadkari's solution was simple: privatisation. "If people want better
services they must be prepared to pay for it. We worked on the
possibility of charging a toll and providing the amenities." Ergo the
birth Of MSRDC.
The corporation raised Rs 1,180 crore through tax-free infrastructure
bonds. HUDCO poured in another Rs 450 crore. Lending institutions
and users like the railways and BEST also pitched in.
The economic recession was also used to full advantage. Contractors
were promised payment within 24 hours of bill verification. Used to
payments taking up to 90-180 days, they responded by quoting rates
that were nearly 40 per cent lower. Not just that. Contractors
completing work earlier than scheduled were offered Rs 1 lakh per day
while the laggards were penalised. The result: while MSRDC had
estimated the cost of 55 flyovers at Rs 1,800 crore it now expects to
build them for less than Rs 1,300 crore. And that too well in time.
Technology also played a crucial role. Earlier paving a 2-km stretch
took up to eight months. But by using pavers that cost Rs 6 crore the
work could be completed in less than three days. Similarly, hydraulic
pile drivers dug 30 ft in less than six hours. So, the pile-driving
of a 35-storey building that took six months could be done in less
than 30 days. And the curb-laying machine did in a day what used to
take 30 days. The Government encouraged upgradation of technology by
extending foreign-exchange risk protection for equipment imported,
reimbursed customs duty, reimbursed excise charged on pre-mix concrete
and octroi on material transported.
The big push, however, came not through simpler laws and technology
but the changed mindset. For the first time, contractors and
consultants were given their due: in advertisements, in brochures and
on the dais during the inauguration.
The change in mindset was also evident in the speed with which the
tenders were processed. The Government got the environmental
clearance on November 13, 1997, invited tenders on December 18 and had
issued the work order by January 1, 1998. Then again, government
project designs normally take up to three months to get cleared. But
Sinha and his team of consultants are bound to clear them in less than
two weeks. "It is a quantum change," says Bongirwar.
As Gadkari says, "My greatest joy is that we have proved that Indians
can do it." A sentiment he shares with Ratan Tata. So it is hardly
surprising that Tata wanted to share a cup of tea with him.
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