In the wake of irregularities in allocation of natural resources and award of infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for transparency in awarding highway projects to eliminate the possibility of favouritism or ‘crony capitalism'.
Speaking at the conference of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in National Highways, he said that it is necessary to demonstrate that the award, construction and operation of these (highways) projects are based on a fair and transparent approach which eliminates any suspicion of favouritism or what might be described as crony capitalism. We must remember that there are public projects where public interest must be foremost in our mind.
The government plans to double investment in infrastructure projects to $1 trillion to achieve a GDP growth rate of 9 per cent during the 12th Plan. Of this, about Rs 2 trillion will be required for roads with about 50 percent investment coming from the private sector.
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