Centre to dissolve Gati Shakti’s Network Planning Group, set up unified transport planning body

New Delhi: The Centre is restructuring the PM Gati Shakti governance framework, with plans to dissolve the Network Planning Group (NPG) and create a new overarching institution in the Cabinet Secretariat to coordinate India's transport infrastructure development.

The Integrated Transport Planning Authority, likely to be called GatiShakti Transport Planning and Research Organisation (GTPRO), will lay out a medium- to long-term road map for each transport ministry-roads, railways, shipping and aviation.

"Integrated five-year and ten-year plans will be put in place for each transport ministry, linking into the larger vision of the government to develop a world-class infrastructure in the country as India aspires to be a developed nation by 2047," a senior government official told ET.

According to the official, this would mean an end to the NPG as it was not very effective.

"Ministries were often seen overriding the NPG, which resulted in delay in project appraisals," the official added. The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), under the ministry of commerce and industry, is likely to seek the Cabinet approval for setting up the authority.

The target is to make the new body functional from the next financial year. The authority is expected to be headed by a secretary-level officer, unlike the NPG which is under the control of a joint-secretary level officer.

Apart from preparing an integrated plan, the body will also appraise sectoral projects above ₹500 crore, monitor them and assess their impact.

The idea is to have a structured framework for master planning of transport development in the country and have a data repository that can help in future planning and policy interventions.

To be created on the lines of similar unified institutions in the US, UK and Germany, the Indian entity will come up with comprehensive, long-term strategies for transport-related sectors to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and promote integrated multimodal corridors.

This will help break siloes, created by each individual ministry, which creates hindrance and delays national infrastructure development.