Delays in security nods may become thing of past; Govt to streamline procedures

NEW DELHI: Delays in security clearances, a major bugbear of industry, could be close to being resolved. The government is moving to streamline security clearance procedures, possibly by adopting guidelines issued by the Ministry of Shipping in January this year.

Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth will meet secretaries of infrastructure and other ministries on Thursday to start the process of standardizing the security clearance procedures for infrastructure and industrial projects. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year identified delays in security clearances to port projects as “a major bottleneck” for the infrastructure sector.

This resulted in the Shipping Ministry issuing guidelines this January that stipulated a 12 week deadline for security agencies to clear bidders for port infrastructure projects. Once the clearance comes through, it will remain valid for three years, unless there is a change in shareholding pattern.

“Security clearances for bidders usually take over six months to a year, delaying the project. After things have started moving in the port sector following the Ministry of Shipping guidelines, it has been decided by the government to streamline the security clearance procedure in respect of all sectors on the pattern of the guidelines of shipping sector. The Cabinet Secretary will lead the exercise and fresh guidelines will go to the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval,” a top government official told ET.

Delayed security clearances has emerged as a major complaint against government by industry and is seen as a tangible example of the policy paralysis.

The meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary is supposed to be attended by the secretaries in the ministries of home, power, surface transport, shipping, defence and the chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Asif Ibrahim. A letter dated October 16 from the Cabinet Secretariat to these Secretaries, which was reviewed by ET, informs them of the government’s intention to frame standardized guidelines for security clearances for all sectors and encloses the Shipping Ministry guidelines which could act as a model.

Last year, the Cabinet Committee for Security had approved guidelines to expedite port projects which said that the Ministry of Shipping would share the list of bidders with the ministries of home, defence, external affairs, intelligence bureau and cabinet secretariat for seeking security inputs. The guidelines also said the Shipping Ministry will separately circulate a list of all Indian and foreign companies that normally bid for port projects to the security agencies.

The guidelines said security inputs have to be provided by various security agencies within 12 weeks, and once the clearance comes through, it is valid for three years, barring a change in shareholding pattern. The company will have to inform the government about any changes in management control and more than 10 per cent change in the equity holding of any shareholder.

The PMO, which is monitoring infrastructure projects, in a statement earlier had promised that new processes “are being put in place” to obtain security clearances speedily in future and admitted that a major bottleneck in moving ahead was the issue of securing clearances from various ministries such as Home,Defence and Environment.