Draft bill on highways regulator before next Budget

NEW DELHI: The highways ministry is looking to create the proposed regulator for the road sector before the next Union Budget. The ministry is currently fine tuning the draft bill which will be presented to the Cabinet after getting comments from various ministries.

"The regulator was announced by finance minister P Chidambaram in this year's budget so ideally, we should have it in place before the next Union Budget," said highways minister Oscar Fernandes, adding that the draft bill on the regulator is almost ready and is being fine tuned before it is presented before the Cabinet.

The highways ministry had earlier said it plans to get all required clearances for the regulator by December-end. "It is important that there is an independent body whose judgement will hold weight... Concessions in the highways sector are spread over 25 years, but if a concessionaire wants to exit and there is another (developer) to take its place, it should be done," Fernandes told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on PPP in the highway sector.

Among other functions, the regulator is proposed to look into resolving contractual disputes and renegotiation of contracts. Fernandes said that depending on the time available, it could either be created through an executive order, which is a faster process, or have it passed through Parliament.