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Vajpayee sets up infrastructure taskforce

Prime Minister A B Vajpayee has constituted a taskforce headed by deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Jaswant Singh on infrastructure with the aim of attracting investments to specific projects of national and regional importance and ensuring their timely completion.

Official sources said in New Delhi today that, to begin with, the taskforce will deal with projects announced by the prime minister recently. These would include six-lane expressways of 7,000 km length having north-south and east-west corridors, four-laning of national highways and five world class international airports.

The taskforce will be serviced by the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation in cooperation with the Planning Commission.

While Jaswant Singh is the chairperson of the taskforce, Surface Transport Minister M Thambidurai, Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar, chairman, Industrial Development Financial Corporation Deepak Parekh, Managing Director, Mahindra Ford Anand Mahindra and the secretaries of the surface transport and civil aviation ministries are members.

N K Singh, secretary to the PM, is member-secretary.

Sources said the taskforce will determine routes for expressways and national highways and establish technical parameters thereof. Other terms of reference include identifying and recommending locations for airports, establishing benchmarks and criteria for the airports and recommending financing options for the expressways, highways and airports.

The taskforce will also recommend criteria for competitive bidding and selection of equipment procurement contractors besides recommending measures for timely completion of projects including governmental clearance. The force will also oversee and monitor the timely implementation of projects.

The taskforce may be assigned other tasks as may be found necessary from time to time, sources said. The ministries of surface transport and civil aviation will render necessary assistance to the taskforce, sources added.

UNI