Perform or perish, government tells road project developers
Running out of patience for their “lack of commitment and lackadaisical approach”, the government has warned non-serious developers and bankers of terminating highway projects worth ` 20,000 crore.
“The concessionaires and bankers are not realising that we are reaching a stage of impatience, and people who are users of these roads are not going to be waiting any more,” road transport and highways secretary Vijay Chhibber said.
“If developers and bankers fail to mend their ways and initiate correctives to roll out projects by January-end, the government will start terminating contracts in PPP (public private partnership) mode and repackage them.”
Out of the total 77 stalled projects, issues have been sorted out for all barring 19, which are still stuck.
“Enough is enough,” the senior official said, mincing no words, adding that a 30-day deadline has been set for developers and bankers of 19 projects to “perform or get terminated”.
The secretary’s remarks assume significance as the highway sector has been saddled with stuck projects worth about ` 3.8 lakh crore. The government, it seems, doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned in initiating policy measures and extending support wherever required.
At one point, Chhibber had even remarked that aggressive lending by banks, which were “happily over-financing even non-serious highways players without assessing risks, has virtually killed the sector”.
The builders in the line of fire include big players such as Larsen & Toubro, HCC, Gammon, Madhucon, Soma and Essel among others, while the list of lenders includes top names such as State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India.