Only private party can't be penalised in PPP project delays: Goyal

Calling for an overhaul of the country's public-private partnership (PPP) model to make it more investor-friendly, union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that any penalty levied for delay in projects coming up in the PPP mode should not just be restricted to the private party.

"Any framework we create should provide penalty for the private sector and the other side. One must not forget to address the delays in providing utilities which are necessary for the success of any project," Goyal said while addressing the 'Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit'.

"If India has to develop at the kind of pace that we all wanted to and provide bare necessities to its people by 2022, then clearly the PPP model is unavoidable. It will be the engine of growth in infrastructure sector and together we will have to evolve the right regulatory framework which should be simple and predictable," he said.

The union minister complimented the Haryana government for having come out with progressive policies like the Transit Oriented Development Policy, New and Integrated Licensing Policy and the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna, which, he said, will encourage entrepreneurs to bring in investments in the real estate sector through the PPP mode.