After a year of all promises and little work on PPP projects, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has decided to crack the whip. In a marathon meeting with officials and ministers concerned, Mayawati on Wednesday directed officials to commission all projects by February 15. She emphasised that proposals and suggestions made by the investors and developers, who were initially interested in the projects but later turned away, be heard and evaluated seriously before preparing final proposals on a war-footing.

Reviewing the public-private partnership projects of important departments such as energy, tourism, transport, sugarcane, medical and health, industrial development, housing and urban planning, technical education, medical education and tax, she said stern disciplinary action would be taken against officials who show slackness in implementing the projects.

It may be mentioned that the chief minister had unveiled a economic policy for the state in December, 2007, of which public-private partnership model was an important ingredient. The state government aimed at building the crumbling infrastructural edifice in both urban and rural areas with the help of this model.

However, with more than a year having passed, no success has been seen on this front that the government can boast of, except the commissioning of Rs 40,000-crore, 1047-km Ganga Expressway, which would run from Ballia on the eastern fringes of the state to Greater Noida. In fact, none of the projects have made any progress beyond the bidding process or appointment of consultants. In fact, repeated changes in the terms and conditions of bidding process has led investors to keep off the projects. A few notable examples are repeated bidding for the two mega power projects in Allahabad, the 1,320-mw Karchana and the 1,980-mw Bara thermal projects, extensions in strategic sale of UP State Sugar Corporation?s 33 ailing sugar mills, disinvestment of Uttar Pradesh Tourism Corporation?s 71 units, frequent changes in the conditions for private transport companies to ply buses on 460 routes and failure to attract any investor for the construction and management of an international airport in Kushinagar, which comes under the Buddhist circuit, etc.

?The repeated dithering on the part of the state government confused private investors for whom stability is the buzzword for establishing any new business,? says a senior state government official.

In fact, the chief minister is said to have expressed severe dissatisfaction over the poor progress of projects and has ordered that a final decision on both the Bara and Karchana projects be taken by February 15. New proposal to introduce input-based franchisee in the power distribution system should be put on top priority and the franchisee also be selected by February 15, she added.

The same order has been issued for the strategic sale of the sugar mills and the disinvestment of the 71 units of the state tourism corporation. The chief minister has also set February 15 as the deadline for the privatisation of 25 sugar mills of the UP Co-operative Federation.

Projects stuck

• Two mega power projects in Allahabad, ? the 1,320-mw Karchana and the 1,980-mw Bara thermal projects

• Extensions for the strategic sale of the 33 ailing sugar mills of the UP State Sugar Corporation

• Disinvestment of the 71 units of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Corporation

• Repeated changes in the conditions for private transport companies to ply buses in many as 460 routes that were opened up in the state

• Failure to attract any investor for the construction and management of an international airport in Kushinagar, which comes under the Buddhist circuit, etc