Govt to expedite Sagarmala proj, fix deadline for Ministries

To expedite the ambitious Sagarmala project for integrating ports with hinterlands through rail and road networks, the government plans to fix a deadline of up to nine months for ministries concerned to resolve bottlenecks.
"We are planning to give area of responsibility along with the timelines for each ministry for commencing preparatory work for the project," a senior government official said today.
The Sagarmala project aims to not only connect the ports with hinterlands through road and rail, but also develop the inland and coastal waterways as a major transport routes.
The Shipping Ministry has already moved a Cabinet note seeking inter-ministerial views on the project. However, some of the ministries have not yet send their comments.

While the Ministry of Shipping has been asked to settle issues relating to land policy guidelines and policy changes, the Ministry of Tourism would be asked to identify tourism potential in the project areas, the official said.
The Ministry of Rural Development would be asked to come up with a plan for community development in consultation with the state governments and stakeholders.
The official said that the concerned Ministries would be asked to resolve the issues within nine months period.
The project envisages developing India's ports at global standards in areas like infrastructure, efficiency and quality of service, increasing the tonnage capacity, upgrading and creating ship building and ship repair facilities and increase the use of inland waterways for transportation.