10% of city eaten up by car spaces

July 28, 2014

 

Maria.Akram

New Delhi:

Finding parking space in Delhi is like a treasure hunt. The growing number of cars has led to a scramble for vacant slots and frayed nerves. Rajinder Bhatia’s death in west Patel Nagar underlines a larger issue and a crime pattern that needs a closer look. According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment, parking takes up nearly 10% of the city’s space, just 1% less than the green cover. Delhi has 82 lakh registered vehicles and the addition of cars, many of them superfluous, will only compound parking problems in future.With the lanes in residential areas always packed, fights have become routine.

Ambulances, police vehicles and fire tenders often get stuck. “The area needed for parking vehicles is now double of what is taken up by slums in Delhi. The social inequity , shrinking of common areas and unhealthy environment will only get worse,“ said Anumita Roy choudhary , executive director, CSE.

To tackle this problem, some RWAs have restricted entry of cars, others have proposed parking lots beneath the parks. Many are using colony parks and vacant plots to squeeze in their cars. “Anyone can buy any number of cars without showing parking space. There is no policy,“ said Manjeet Singh of South Extension part-I RWA.

Another reason for the mess is the commercialization of residential roads.
Banks, nursing homes, gym and departmental stores are essential but daily fights over parking outside houses are also taking their toll. Deflating tyres, towing and damaging cars has become common.

Since 2005 civic agencies have been collecting conversion charges from these areas.
“Not a single parking lot has come up. Where has the money gone?“ said Rajiv Kakria of GK-I RWA. Of the 41 parking lots planned by the corporations since 2007, only three have been completed.

Unauthorized colonies as well as congested areas like Karol Bagh and Walled City are worse off. “We need a policy or more people will be killed over parking rows,“ said B S Vohra of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front. Experts had suggested charges for street parking but political pressure put them in cold storage. “Public transport needs to improve to reduce reliance on cars,“ said Ashok Bhasin of North Delhi Residents Welfare Forum.

Govt to review norms for financially-stressed highway projects

December 24, 2013

The government proposes to reschedule premium obligations of the developers of some of the financially-stressed highway projects that are under various stages of execution or are abandoned by the developers owing to various reasons.

The government move comes in the backdrop of near stagnation or a lack of progress in implementing a majority of the 53 projects for developing 6,415 km of highways, awarded during the UPA’s second term.

While a majority of these are stuck due to financial reasons, some 4,000 km of projects where construction is yet to start the reasons are mainly regulatory roadblocks or non-availability of land.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded these projects on a design, build, operate basis and developers have secured the right to collect tolls on the basis of the premium they offered to pay.

Source- http://www.domain-b.com/

Draft of ‘Road Safety Policy’ ready for cabinet’s approval

December 17, 2013

TNN |

 

LUCKNOW: The draft for ‘road safety policy’ conceived in early July by the externally aided projects department of GoUP is finally ready for cabinet approval after rounds of deliberations and suggestions from various departments concerned like home, transport, health, education and PWD etc.Madhukar Jetley, advisor, externally aided projects department, GoUP shared the information on sidelines of a ‘Multi-sector Road Safety Workshop’ organised in association with the World Bank team in Lucknow on Monday.

“The draft is ready and would soon be sent to the cabinet for approval. We have proposed certain modifications in the lead agency, ‘UP Road Safety Council’. Now, the chief minister has been made its chairman and the chief secretary as the secretary of council.” He said the council didn’t have teeth so far and was rather acting as an advisory body. By making the CM as its chairman, the council hopes to have greater power to enforce laws. Also, it has been decided that the council would meet every month to review the progress on road safety.

Transport commissioner, Rajneesh Gupta was also present at the event who compared road accident statistics of India with that of the world. He said the year 2011 touched new heights of road mortalities in India, making it surpass China in total number of road accidents. Presently, India has the highest number of annual road deaths in the world. More than 6 million accidents have been reported in last one decade.

Unfortunately, UP is a significant contributor to this figure. Every year, more than 20,000 people are killed on the roads of UP. To tackle this grim situation, UP government is considering of creating a road safety policy on traffic management in the state. If so happens, UP could probably be the first state in the country to come up with its own road safety policy.

Amid deliberations, it was found that there is an urgent need to overhaul road infrastructures in the state to minimize accidents. The transport department claimed that due to ‘inadequate funds’, they are unable to repair roads of the city. It has sought 70% share in the enforcement money which flows from challans every year to create ‘dedicated road safety funds’ to develop road infrastructures of the state.

Officials said every year, the transport department earns around Rs 220 crore and the police earn Rs 60-70 crore from challans. All this money flows to the state treasury leaving little funds for development works. If 70% share is given back to them, they can utilize it in developing better infrastructures.

As per recommendations of Sundar Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management, officials pointed out that once roads become safer, number of accidents and violations would significantly reduce thereby decreasing funds. Officials suggested that the cess earned on petrol and diesel in Uttar Pradesh by GOI can be given back to the state to compensate for the depleting funds.

The externally aided projects department announced that it is working in coordination with the World Bank to develop standard roads in UP. The project would first target roads of prime use and the ones which suffer from maximum traffic congestion. These would be national and state highways including PWD roads in the state.

The project involves engineering improvements in high-risk corridors and focus on safety needs of vulnerable road users like children and pedestrians. It aims to introduce effective enforcement on high-risk safety behaviors like speeding, non-wearing of safety belts, drunken driving and driver’s fatigue. It would review vehicle safety standards too, especially safety of heavy motor vehicles and public passenger services. It would also attempt to ensure more effective response to accident victims, emergency care and their long-term rehabilitation.

‘Rangarajan panel to only formulate guidelines for road projects’

November 20, 2013

NEW DELHI: The Rangarajan panel on premium rescheduling of road projects will only formulate guidelines and the task of implementation will rest with the NHAI .

 

Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan headed panel, by this month end, will submit its report on restructuring the premium paid by the highway developers. “We are not looking at individual projects, we will prepare a framework, regulations, etc and lay down the parameters which NHAI Board will take up,” Road Secretary Vijay Chhibber, who is also one of the members of the committee comprising representatives from Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission, told report  here. 

When asked about the issues the panel is deliberating upon, he said all issues requiring restructuring, rate of interest for premium payment, identifying stressed projects which will be allowed to delay payments.

“Rescheduling of premium will be different for pre- construction and post construction projects,” he added. The report will be submitted to the Finance Ministry by the end of this month. The proposal for restructuring the premium for highway projects was aimed at providing relief to players such as GMR and GVK. Their projects have been facing delays on account of high premium — the payment made by the developer to National Highways Authority of India under the build, operate and transfer(BOT) mode.

The premium, which is offered by companies during the bidding stage, is based on projected returns from tolls.

Source-http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Govt mulls tweaking policy to let developers sell equity on exiting road projects

November 18, 2013

Manu Balachandran  | 

Road projects have been struggling in the past few years largely as private developers have stayed away
  

  The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is looking to tweak an exit policy announced for highway projects this year. The policy falied to excite developers as it did not transfer the perks to the new operator. The Union ministry is considering a proposal by the National Highways Authortity of India that allows a developer to sell or transfer their stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for a project.

Road projects in India are undertaken through such vehicles, made up of the concessionaire (operator), lenders and the highways authority, and the project is usually awarded for 20-25 years. The construction is usually done in three years and the tolling period starts once the project is bulit. The current policy does not allow transfer of equity but only substitution of a concessionaire, following which a new vehicle has to be then formed. The exit policy announced in July this year found no takers, as the new vehicle did not get the perquisites offered to the original vehcile, including a tax holiday of 10 years.

“This was the original recommendation that NHAI had put forward. But the government formulated the new policy that required the creation of a new SPV, once a concessionaire is substituted; there were a host of concerns, including the issue of tax holiday”, a senior official at the highways authority said.

Meanwhile, developers looking to exit a project will continue to need approvals from the lenders of the project and the highways authority. More, the developer will also have to pay a penalty of one per cent of the project cost. “They should remove the penalty first and come out with a comprehensive policy. There are also concerns over income tax and taxation concerns and the government should address them,” said B Murali, Director General, National Highway Builders Federation.

Road projects in India have been struggling in the past few years largely as private developers have stayed away. Lenders have also been reluctant to fund road projects over various concerns. In an interview with Business Standard, Minister for Road Transport Oscar Fernandes had acknowledged funding for projects was the biggest constraint.

The ministry has suggested the finance ministry to reschedule premium worth Rs 1,51,000 crore that developers owe the highways authority. The finance ministry has in turn set up a committee under Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan to study the terms and conditions of rescheduling. The committee is expected to come out with recommendations next month.

The government is also looking at the option of doing road shows in countries including China and Australia to attract investments in the road sector after domestic companies have stayed back from investing in road projects. The ministry is expected to make a presentation to the Prime Minister soon.

Source-http://www.business-standard.com

Exit policy for road projects may be tweaked, may allow equity sale

November 16, 2013

 

Manu Balachandran  |   

Current policy bars equity transfer, only allows substitution of concessionaire after which a new SPV has to be formed to undertake the road project

 

The union road ministry is looking to tweak an exit policy announced for highway projects this year in a bid to provide a breather to concessionaires looking to exit road projects. The ministry is currently considering a proposal by NHAI which allows a developer to sell or transfer his stake in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed to develop a road project.

Road projects in India are undertaken through an SPV which comprises the concessionaire, lenders and NHAI and the project is usually awarded for a period of 20-25 years. The construction is usually done in 3 years and the tolling period starts on completion of construction.

The current policy does not allow the transfer of equity and merely allows a substitution of a concessionaire following which a new SPV has to be then formed to undertake the road project. The exit policy announced by the government in July this year found no takers as the new SPV was not eligible for the perquisites offered to the original SPV including a tax holiday of 10 years.

“This was the original recommendation that NHAI had put forward. But the government formulated the new policy which required the creation of a new SPV once a concessionaire is substituted and thereby there were a host of concerns including the issue of Tax holiday”, a senior official at NHAI said.

Meanwhile, concessionaires looking to exit the project will continue to need approvals from the lenders of the project and from NHAI. In addition, the exiting concessionaire will also have to pay a penalty of 1 per cent of the entire project cost. “They should remove the penalty first and come out with a comprehensive policy. There are also concerns over Income tax and taxation concerns and the government should address them”, B.Murali, Director General at National Highway Builders federation said.

Road projects in India have been struggling since the past few years largely due to private developers staying away from road projects in the country. In addition, lenders have also been staying away from funding road projects over various concerns. In an interview with Business Standard, minister for Road Transport, Oscar Fernandes had acknowledged that the funding for projects remain the biggest constraint.

The ministry meanwhile has asked the finance ministry to look at rescheduling premium worth Rs 151000 crore that developers owe NHAI. The finance ministry has in turn set up a committee under C.Rangarajan to study the terms and conditions of rescheduling and the committee is expected to come out with their recommendation next month.

The government is also looking at the option of doing road shows in countries including China and Australia to attract investments in the road sector after domestic companies have stayed back from investing in road projects. The ministry is expected to make a presentation to the Prime Minister soon.

Source-http://www.business-standard.com

0 km: 60 km along Indo-China border

October 28, 2013

By Pradeep Kumar (ANI)

 

Itanagar, Oct.26 (ANI): ‘The headline should look like the eyes of a damsel to attract readers’, was a lesson for the mass communication students insofar as reporting is concerned.

I wonder if this headline would stir the readers’ psyche?

A visit to Bumla in Tawang district along the India-China border on October 20, was shockingly disgusting.

Maruti Gypsy and Mahindra’s Scorpio, both sturdy vehicles on hilly roads, found it difficult to negotiate the 45-km road from Tawang to the last border outpost that took almost two hours.

Few patches were only boulders without any sign of road. Travelling along the steep road was a uphill task, well neigh impossible to maneuver that forced the drivers to travel at almost 0 km speed.

This prompted a top ranking IPS officer to comment that the road condition is as it was a decade ago when I visited.

Chief Minister Nabam Tuki assured to  take up with the defence ministry for improving the border roads maintained by the BRO for the security of the nation.

This was the status of border road almost  19 months after Defence Minister A K Antony at Itanagar on 20th February 2012 had said that: “By and large, the border is peaceful, and at the same time, India is taking care of strengthening the capabilities to protect our national interest from any kind of challenges from any quarters. The eastern border is safe and we will make it safer, (and) for that, whatever is needed to strengthen our security apparatus, we are taking care of it continuously in a systematic manner.”

“India is strengthening its security capabilities in the eastern border. Along with that, we are also  taking care of the socio-economic development of the border areas. I want to make it amply clear that our security forces are capable of protecting our national interests,” said Antony without mincing any words.

What an irony? For, on arrival at the Bumla Pass, it was learnt that Land Cruisers used by the People’s Liberation Army travel at 60 km speed to reach the black topped road on the other side of the border.

Undoubtedly, Lok Sabha member Ninong Ering had told the floor of the house on April 20 last that the 1962 situation (When India had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of China) still prevailed along the Indo-China border. India and China shares about 3,500 km  border, 1,080 km in Arunachal Pradesh alone.

The union rural development ministry has approved a network of roads and bridges to improve connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh, a decision that comes just ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Beijing and underscores the strategic importance of the bordering state over parts of which China lays claim.

The pre-empowered committee of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the Centre’s rural roads programme, has cleared construction of 57 roads and 58 long-span bridges covering 842 km. Of these, 21 roads and 46 bridges are in areas along the India-China border. The projects will cost Rs 819 crore and connect 170 habitations in the state. State agencies and National Building Construction Corporation, a central public sector company, will construct these roads and bridges.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh’s push for strengthening connectivity in international border areas has led to speedy clearances since January for construction of 95 roads and 31 long-span bridges in the state, covering a length of 1,190 km at a cost of Rs 894 crore. The government has approved construction of roads connecting 126 clusters of habitations, each of which have population of less than 250.

The Bumla outpost records upto 15 feet deep snowfall and temperature goes down below -23 degree but the jawans continue to guard the border.

When would good sense prevail upon the New Delhi mandarins is a million dollar question!

Source-http://www.newstrackindia.com

 

Where do I park my car?

September 13, 2013

Ananya Bhardwaj , Shikha Sharma , Pragya Kaushika

A thinly populated neighbourhood with just two cars. That was Rajendra Nagar in the good old days, reminisces septuagenarian D N Narang, who has been living in the locality since 1954. Elsewhere in the capital, few cars would be parked on the roads; there was no need to.Today, at last count the number of four-wheelers in Delhi had crossed the 23-lakh mark with little space to park them and not even a semblance of a parking policy in sight. In Narang’s colony, there are at least three scraps a week over parking spaces; the locality’s serene aura now relegated to the deep recesses of his memory.

He recalls a time when not many people had cars. “We used to have single-storey houses that were actually bigger compared to today’s standards. In the entire neighbourhood, there were only two cars. Now, the colony has 500 plots on which there are 1,400 flats, each with at least two cars. People with bigger flats have three cars. Every other day, we intervene in fights over parking spaces,” Narang said.

 

SAME STORY

It’s the same story all over the city.

A few km away in Karol Bagh, enterprising residents have found a way to profit from the paucity of parking space in the city. Here, residents ‘rent’ out parking spots inside residential complexes to outsiders. “There’s a huge demand for parking spots in the area. Fights break out continuously over right of parking. In such a scenario, first we ensure that there is enough parking space for our own vehicles. And if there is space left to accommodate others’ cars, what’s the harm in letting it out?” asked Neeraj, a local resident who lives in one of the government flats in the area.

“Government residential complexes usually have a lot of space. So I let it out to people who need it, but to mostly those who live nearby or whom I know,” he added.

Neeraj claimed he does not charge money for letting others park their cars in his colony, but a lot of residents do. Like Manish Singh, another local resident, who even advertises the availability of parking space on a website. “Have a huge parking space in Karol Bagh area (near Khalsa College). Genuine people may contact after 6 pm on any day (sic),” reads one advertisement.

 

RENT A SPOT

The deal is simple. For a sum between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, one can book a parking spot outside flats for a month by getting in touch with local residents. Some even ask for a two-month advance. “Almost everyone in the locality does it and claim to know the people to whom they let out the parking spots. But the truth is, not everybody is a known customer. In this locality of nine-10 houses, you’ll find 40 cars parked in the evening,” he claimed.

In residential areas, particularly those next to commercial hubs, the parking problem — and with it traffic congestion — intensifies. “My family lives in a three-storeyed house and we have six cars. People who come to the South Extension market park their cars in front of residents’ houses and go shopping for hours. Consequently, fights are common here,” Sudhir Handa of South Extension Part-II said.

 

NO CLEAR POLICY

Similarly, Hauz Khas village, on a typical weekend, turns into a nightmare for visitors and residents with cars parked cheek by jowl.

“During weekends, it’s wise to come down to the village before 8 pm. After that, it’s impossible to park here. Then, you usually park a kilometre or two away and walk till the village, or park outside the residential apartments. But that’s hardly safe or convenient. So, we strike a deal of sorts with the local security guard of a nearby apartment. We pay him Rs 100-200. For that sum, he not only parks your car within the apartment complex but also keeps an eye on it,” Debjit Mitra, who visits the village frequently, said.

On the road leading up to the village, such attendants are easy to spot. While some may offer their services only when asked, others are upfront. Though the Hauz Khas Welfare Association is not aware of the practice, they do admit that indiscriminate parking outside their homes, especially on weekends, has turned into a nuisance.

“The situation has gone out of control. People visiting restaurants in the village park their vehicles right outside our homes. Some even drink and create mischief. The problem has become so acute during weekends that we are even thinking of filing a petition in court,” S L Jain, chairman, Hauz Khaz, K & P blocks, said.

Without a clear parking policy on the part of the government, the problem has reached alarming proportions in the city.

 

http://www.indianexpress.com

Government’s recent efforts for revival of highways sector end up non-starters to policy gaps

August 5, 2013

By YASHODHARA DASGUPTA,  ET Bureau

In June, the government had approved a policy that would allow substitution of concessionaires in highway projects at any stage as long as financial closure had been achieved.

(In June, the government had approved a policy that would allow substitution of concessionaires in highway projects at any stage as long as financial closure had been achieved.)

 NEW DELHI: The government’s recent efforts to revive the highways sector will turn out to be a non-starter because the new rules have inherent gaps, road developers have told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.A long-awaited policy notified last fortnight to unlock equity funding for new projects by letting concessionaires exit ongoing and completed highway projects will not help bring any new investments or FDI into the sector since it’s mired in legal, taxation and commercial mess, developers have said.

Government's recent efforts for revival of highways sector end up non-starters to policy gaps

 

In June, the government had approved a policy that would allow substitution of concessionaires in highway projects at any stage as long as financial closure had been achieved. This was done to revive the sector – marked by dramatic fall in investments — by freeing up equity and using it in new projects that are not taking off for want of buyers.

“The current circular has failed to address the issue of unlocking of equity in healthy, operational projects that will release about Rs 6,000 crore of equity in older concessions. This would have also brought serious, long-term FDI to road sector,” National Highway Builders’ Federation (NHBF) has said in a missive to the prime minister and finance minister.

“The policy has a large number of legal, commercial and taxation challenges that investors and sellers would not be willing or prepared to deal with,” they added.

Industry members have pointed out that the policy does not include projects where financial closure is not achieved despite the fact that there are several such projects because the authority has not fulfilled its obligation.

However, road ministry officials said allowing substitution where financial closure has not been achieved would mean giving complete leeway to developers which would be detrimental to the PPP framework and that an NHAI default is already covered in the existing model concession agreement (MCA).

The letter also points out that it is not clear whether completed projects include partially completed ones and projects that have received provisional COD. It is also unclear whether the incoming entity can get the tax benefits available for infra projects.

According to M Murali, director general at NHBF, the government’s intention will not succeed with this route since the substitution mode will not be acceptable. “The process is also long, confusing and would involve more expenditure. Also, what’s the point of imposing a penalty on exiting developers when they are already stressed in the first place,” he said. The penalty clause however, said government officials, was opposed by the road ministry but it was included at the insistence of the finance ministry.

Meanwhile, NHAI officials said that international players, including sovereign funds, have expressed interest in taking over existing projects where developers are interested in selling their stake.

 

Source-http://economictimes.indiatimes.com