I found this article in the ET today:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/mumbais-mega-infra-projects-hit-roadblock/articleshow/21666958.cms
(The post title is not the real caption of the article!)
This just reiterates what we discussed in class the other day- No decision is simply economic; the situation in fact is much more complex. Its well enough for the GOI to say that we invite bids, we engage private investors, we have allowed 100% FDI through the automatic route. Is this enough? Private investors pulled out of major projects simply because of lack of support during the project. And yes, its a tough decision for the government- on one hand, they need private investments for major infra projects, on the other, why would the ruling party want the opposition to get just one more 'argument' against it? But to think of it say, how ethical is it to forbid the private investor from charging toll after clearly including this in the contract? And now, the government receives not even a single bid for a major trans- harbour link project. Well, not very difficult to predict based on the historical events. Quoting a sentence from the article which I liked the most- " Executives travelling around the world for work point out how public transport is the biggest differentiator between India's business capital and other centres of business in the world.... A majority of the working population spends four hours a day commuting either packed like sardines in local trains or fighting traffic on the roads". "Some delays are inevitable" according to a senior executive at the nodal agency for these mega projects. Isn't there always an excuse?
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/mumbais-mega-infra-projects-hit-roadblock/articleshow/21666958.cms
(The post title is not the real caption of the article!)
This just reiterates what we discussed in class the other day- No decision is simply economic; the situation in fact is much more complex. Its well enough for the GOI to say that we invite bids, we engage private investors, we have allowed 100% FDI through the automatic route. Is this enough? Private investors pulled out of major projects simply because of lack of support during the project. And yes, its a tough decision for the government- on one hand, they need private investments for major infra projects, on the other, why would the ruling party want the opposition to get just one more 'argument' against it? But to think of it say, how ethical is it to forbid the private investor from charging toll after clearly including this in the contract? And now, the government receives not even a single bid for a major trans- harbour link project. Well, not very difficult to predict based on the historical events. Quoting a sentence from the article which I liked the most- " Executives travelling around the world for work point out how public transport is the biggest differentiator between India's business capital and other centres of business in the world.... A majority of the working population spends four hours a day commuting either packed like sardines in local trains or fighting traffic on the roads". "Some delays are inevitable" according to a senior executive at the nodal agency for these mega projects. Isn't there always an excuse?
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