June 7, 1999
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MAHARASHTRA The Road Ahead The state PWD shows that road projects can move ahead quickly with a little bit of pragmatism. By V Shankar Aiyar
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 I 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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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. 
