PMO wants infra roadblocks cleared fast

In a move aimed at giving further impetus to the economy, the Prime Minister’s Office has asked the law ministry to initiate a major exercise to help resolve litigations involving infrastructure projects.

There is a growing view within the government that apart from lakhs of crore being locked in such legal battles, the litiga- tions had slowed down the implementation of projects in key sectors like power, shipping, coal, highways, ports, SEZs, telecommunication etc.

The law ministry has been directed to draw up a comprehensive list of major cases involving infrastructure projects and hold detailed consultations with the concerned ministries under whose purview the project comes so that the matter can be resolved at the ear- liest possible.

According to the sources, once the law ministry discussed the issue with the concerned nodal ministry it will then look at options that would help resolve the issue in the shortest possible time.

These could range from going in for a mutual out of court settlement, requesting the Supreme Court or the high court to hear the matter on a daily basis and in case the issued is pending before a lower court then a special court can be set up to dispose the matter expeditiously.

Sources said the law ministry had already initiated the exercise along with some others to ascertain some of the important developments projects that have been stuck in legal wrangling for the last few years.

This issue, source added, was first flagged when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking detailed presentations from various key ministries. During the course of one such meeting the Prime Minister himself, sources revealed, pointed out as to why should the public suffer if a project has been caught in legal dispute with a government agency and a private company.

The move comes in wake of the fact that PM has been according great importance to kick- start the economy.