Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had once said the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development and is driven by seven engines. These engines, she said last year in her Budget (2022-2023) speech, will pull forward the economy in unison.
The engines the FM mentioned are roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways, and logistics infrastructure.
A year later, on March 4 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the Master Plan in his addresses at a post-Budget (2023-2024) webinar on Infrastructure and Investment. “Infrastructure development is the driving force of the country’s economy”, he stated, while pointing out that India will achieve the target of becoming a developed nation by 2047 by following this very path.
A critical tool
Noting that PM Gati Shakti NMP is a critical tool that integrates economic and infrastructural planning with development, the PM added, “Gati Shakti National Master Plan is going to change the face of India’s infrastructure and its multimodal logistics.”
Noting that the results of NMP are becoming visible, he further mentioned, “We have identified the gaps that were impacting the logistics efficiency. That is why, in this year’s (2023-2024) Budget, 100 critical projects have been prioritized and 75,000 crore rupees have been allocated.”
Elaborating on the role of the states, the PM also spoke about the one-year extension of interestfree loans up to 50 years loans and Budgetary expenditure for this has been increased to the tune of 30 per cent.
Coordinated planning
The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan was launched in October 2021 to enable a mechanism for coordinated planning and to provide a bird’s eye view of planned development to all ministries for holistic and integrated development.
The Plan plays the part for creation of a system for inter-connected and multimodal transportation networks leading to integrated economic and infrastructure development, improved trade competitiveness, promotion of exports and employment generation.
It envisages establishing integration and synergy amongst different infrastructure sector projects such as National Highways, Railways, Waterways, Telecom, etc., catering to development requirements and logistic support of different sectors and industries. Such sectors include steel, power, fertilisers, coal, among others.
The NMP will rely on creation of various data layers including geographical features, land records, etc., to facilitate coordinated and integrated planning, project preparations and implementations, optimisation of logistics arrangements and efficient transportation systems.
An overall framework
It further provides an overall framework for planning, sanctioning, and execution of projects. There are no separate funds allocated under PM Gati Shakti NMP. The budget is allocated for NH projects-wise, as per requirements, within the sanctioned project costs.
Ministries monitor the issues that affect project implementation such as land acquisition, removal of encroachment, law, and order situation, according to requirements. In some cases, it may include utility shifting, non-availability of soil, aggregate, environment, forest, wildlife clearances, among many others.
In order to keep a watch on the progress, review meetings are held with the stakeholders. To resolve any issue related to a project and to ensure timely completion, coordination is held between state Governments, ministries and departments of the Union Government, and others. Digital platforms are also used to monitor the progress of such projects.
