Tweet: 100 Smart Cities time frames ~ 20 in 2015-16, 40 in 2016-17, 40 in 2017-18. Each will get R100 crs/yr from Centre for 5 yrs. That’s it.
Preparing the ground for smart cities: On June 25, the Prime Minister unveiled three flagship schemes—the Smart City Mission, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana—at an event at the Vigyan Bhavan in the presence of 500 civic chiefs.
Tweet: Not pvt sector Promoters this time but Discoms: R53,000 cr exposure of Banks to 7 SEBs likely to become NPAs as per RBI prognosis.
Discoms in dire trouble: In the light of RBI’s alarming announcement, experts feel that debt-restructuring packages will not make much difference. Unless state governments are ready to tackle the real issue—raising electricity tariff for agricultural and domestic use and significantly reducing transmission and distribution losses—further loans to SEBs will have little impact.
Tweet: PM will launch “Integrated Power Devpt Scheme” from Varanasi on 28 June. Envisages 100% metering & distribution infra upgrading in cities.
IPDS kicks off from Varanasi: The ambitious Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), aimed at ensuring 24×7 power for all, will get a budgetary support of R48,500 crore. Varanasi, where the project is being initiated, will get central funds of R572 crore.
Tweet: Worth replicating nationally: AAP Govt asks power Discoms to set up Power Lok Adalats (Power Courts) to help speedily resolve disputes.
Boon for Delhi power consumers: Delhi discoms will hold power Lok Adalats on weekends to settle electricity-related complaints, particularly grievances regarding inflated bills and electricity theft.
Tweet: Quiet flows the dirt: How will we have a Swachh Bharat if a country this size has only 269 sewage treatment plants ?!
A stinking mess: The alarming level of pollution in Indian cities has been highlighted by yet another report. According to the WaterAid, nearly 80% of surface water is polluted and is accounted for by domestic sewage.
Tweet: Public Contracts (Resolution of Disputes) Bill 2015 soon to be before Parliament. Expected to solve PPP & Construction disputes speedily.
Light at the end of the disputes tunnel: According to the Draft Bill, a tribunal is to be set up to settle disputes that plague government contracts, including vital infrastructure projects. The Bill proposes a 120-day limit for the completion of the arbitration process.
Tweet: PPAs ahoy! Bidders quote quite low at (wt avg) R4.57/unit for Andhra’s 2,400 MW Case 1 bid; record high fixed cost component of 73%.
Power purchase agreements get a boost: After a long hiatus, the power purchase market has got galvanised by Andhra Pradesh’s request for additional power supply. Hopefully, a pickup of this trend will see power plants operating to fuller extent.
Tweet: Sensible initiatives from Roads Min in 1st yr: EPC, Hybrid Annuity, Funding top up, Bharat Mala, Exit Policy, Swiss Challenge, TOT et al
Gearing up for speedy completion of road projects: The roads ministry is taking a pragmatic approach towards meeting its goals: a mix of different modes of delivery of projects as well as a combination of government and private-funded projects. Investment in the roads sector is expected to hit the R1 lakh crore mark this fiscal.
—Vinayak Chatterjee is Chairman of Feedback Infra
His Twitter handle: @Infra_VinayakCh
A weekly selection of the author’s tweets—
with a brief backgrounder—in the infra space, by Adite Banerjie
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