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Prime Minister GatiShakti National Master Plan is expected to bring about greater coherence in all investments in infrastructure projects in the country, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.
Chairing the 1st meeting of apex monitoring authority of the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, Sitharaman asked the NITI Aayog to map all the different projects such as Industrial Corridors, Freight Corridors, Defence Corridors, NIMZ (National Industrial Manufacturing Zones) PLI-based industry parks, PM-Mitra parks, Medical & Pharma Parks and Logistic Parks to understand the need for bringing them under PM GatiShakti. The finance minister also asked the shipping ministry to map out all the sea ports connected to various industrial corridors to see whether there are meaningful linkages. The Apex Monitoring Authority comprises of Finance Minister as Chairperson, Minister-in-charge, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Minister of Railways, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, and Chief Minister(s) of States concerned. Chief Ministers from six states, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, M.P. Maharashtra and Uttarkhand; ministers from seven states viz. Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan besides senior officials from all the states attended the meeting. Addressing the meeting, Sitharaman thanked the State Chief Ministers and Ministers for keeping the work going all these years. "What started with about 3-4 states with few nodes today has gone to cover 18 States and the ecosystem for industrial development has taken a different colour and speed as we are seeing a far more liberalized environment. This is a rapid scaling up and as a result there should be a greater cumulative benefit, we should be able to derive," she said while urging the States to expedite the acquisition of land. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles said that there is a need to focus on attracting investors quickly in these Industrial Corridors and asked NICDIT as well as States to have Road Shows to attract businesses. The minister said that the Industrial parks will be regarded as successful only if investment flows in. "We must allot the land fast. The land should be reasonably priced for the industry and we should allow innovative ways such as different lease period, lease premium payment flexibility, rental model, lease cum rent option. Electricity rate is another thing investors look at closely. We need to have affordable and consistent rates. High rates of electricity are a deterrent to the industry," Goyal said. Goyal warned that if the existing parks are not put to good use, then the Centre would not support any new park. The minister also urged the States to ensure affordable accommodation, canteens for workers so that slums don't come up in industrial parks. (ANI)
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