'Ministry of DoNER must take up projects of Rs 30-40 cr in NE'

A Parliamentary panel has recommended execution of development projects in the North-East with an average size of around Rs 30 crore to Rs 40 crore within a tight time-frame of three years.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, in its report on demands for grants for Ministry of DoNER, said the ministry must focus on bigger projects where the average envelope size must be Rs 30 crore to Rs 40 crore because fewer projects of reasonable size could be monitored better and completed quickly in one or two years without time and cost overruns.
"The Committee is anguished to observe that one cannot have a project of Rs 8 crore to Rs 10 crore lingering on for three to five years on the plea of inspection. Such projects are in practical terms not projects at all," it said.

The Panel said the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region must have a schedule of time for the release of the first instalment followed by the achievement of the physical target of work within a specified time-frame for the release of second instalment.
"The Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the projects should be smaller in number, bigger in envelope size and there should be tighter time-frame for implementation and the guillotine must be applied at the end of three years," it said.
The panel said it understood that long-term measures like operationalisation of non-operational airports, construction of more green-field airports, enhancement of overall capacities of terminals and aprons and hangars require time for fructification, especially in view of infrastructural bottlenecks peculiar to the North-Eastern region.

"The Committee, however, desires that all the long term strategies should be given momentum and there should be scope for time and cost overruns," it said.
The Panel said the Ministry of DoNER should intensify its efforts and expedite the implementation of short-term measures like extension of runways, upgradation of safety and security infrastructure and installation of instrument landing systems wherever required.
The Ministry of DoNER may take up with the Ministry of Civil Aviation for early completion of short-term measures.