Seeking to stimulate the economy with public investment, Union finance minister Arun Jaitely in the Budget 2016 earmarked a whopping Rs 2.21 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector.
Seeking to stimulate the economy with public investment, Union finance minister Arun Jaitely in the Budget 2016 earmarked a whopping Rs 2.21 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector.
Besides making a strong financial allocation, Mr Jaitely also sought to address the structural issues and proposed reforms in the forms of abolishing permit raj and setting up a dispute redressal system. “Infrastructure is one of the priority areas of the government. The total outlay for infrastructure in 2016-17 stands at Rs 2,21,246 crore,” Mr Jaitley said.
Afterwards, while addressing the media, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari termed the budget a “landmark one, revolutionary and historic”. He said it would result in an “unprecedented growth of the sector which was in ICU earlier”.
With highways taking the centre-stage with enhanced allocation of Rs 97,000 crore, the “game-changing” initiatives include upgradation of 50,000 kms of the state highways into national highways and clearance of 85 per cent of the stalled Rs 1 lakh crore projects.
“This is a totally unreformed sector which suffers from several impediments. Abolition of the permit raj will be our medium-term goal. Entrepreneurs will be able to operate buses on various routes, subject to certain efficiency and safety norms,” Mr Jaitely explained his infrastructure blueprint. He proposed an allocation of Rs 55,000 crore in the Budget for roads and highways, to be further topped up by Rs 15,000 crore to be raised by NHAI through bonds.
Later Mr Gadkari said that with the announcement to allow entrepreneurs to ply buses the number of passengers is bound to more than double to 15 crore in two years, from the 7 crore now.
In his Budget proposal, Mr Jaitley said: “The major benefits of this game-changing initiative will be provision of more efficient public transport facilities, greater public convenience, new investment in this moribund sector, creation of new jobs for our youth, growth of start-up entrepreneurs and other multiplier effect.” He added that the government will enact necessary amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act and open up the road transport sector in the passenger segment. Mr Jaitely added that an enabling eco-system will be provided for the states which will have the choice of adopting the new legal framework.
