Projects worth Rs 4 lakh crore to be put on fast track

NEW DELHI: The government has decided to fast-track 17 large projects with total investments of around Rs 4 lakh crore in an effort to give a big push to the industry. The government’s focus has now shifted from clearing projects where banks' money has been impaired to projects which are part of the capital expenditure plans of PSUs.

The finance ministry will approach the cabinet soon seeking "expeditious" clearance of these projects, which involve companies such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, among others.

“We will do it in tranches. In the first round, 7 projects worth Rs 1.6 lakh crore will be taken up," said a finance ministry official requesting anonymity. “Projects of both state-run firms and other corporate houses which have been caught in the web of various regulatory clearances will be considered,” he added.




The government has been prodding state-run firms to achieve their capital expenditure plans in order to spur growth.

In May this year, the Prime Minister’s Office had met the heads of all major PSUs, and capital expenditure plans for 23 companies, which included heavyweights such as ONGC, Gail, NMDC, NTPC, Coal India, were finalised. The capital expenditure target set for the 23 PSUs this fiscal is Rs 1.41 lakh crore.

“This will ensure that no PSU can complain that they can’t meet the target because of regulatory constraints,” the finance ministry official said. The investment by these companies is being monitored and the ones which fail to meet target will be asked to return surplus through buybacks or special dividends.

P Chidamabaram had also warned heads of government owned companies to be ready to shell out special dividends if they do not invest their surpluses. The finance ministry is also sieving through stalled projects where there are allegations of corruption or are involved in court cases.

“At present, we will not take up those projects. Last time, the CCI had to defer taking a call on these projects because of this reason," the official added. Chidambaram had earlier said that his ministry's first target was to cover 30-40 projects.

23 PSUs meet 94% capex goal

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday said that 23 state-run firms have achieved 94% of their capital expenditure target for the first quarter. The overall capital investment by these firms is Rs 23,635 crore as against the Q1 target of Rs 25,131 crore.

Six companies, including NMDC, PGCIL, NLC, RINL and HAL, had surpassed their first quarter targets.