 "FinMin to seek Cabinet nod for public utility Bill")
The finance ministry will seek Cabinet approval soon for a draft Bill to streamline and institutionalise a dispute resolution mechanism for public-private partnership (PPP) projects. The Bill might be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing session.
The Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill contains a number of clauses to ensure contractual disputes between private partners and government agencies get resolved in a time-bound and institutional manner. Among other things, the Bill will seek establishment of sector-specific tribunals and monitoring agencies independent of the government, Business Standard has learnt.
The Bill was first proposed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Union Budget 2016-17. “A Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill will be introduced during the financial year 2016-17 to streamline institutional arrangements for resolution of disputes in infrastructure-related construction contracts, PPP and public utility contracts,” he had said. “The work on the draft Bill is almost complete. It is being circulated in various ministries for feedback and will be placed before the cabinet for approval soon. We are hoping it will be tabled in the ongoing session itself,” said an official.
A number of clauses are said to be similar to the recommendations of the Kelkar committee on revitalising the PPP model for infrastructure. It is this panel, led by former Finance Secretary and 13th Finance Commission Chairman Vijay Kelkar, that recommended sector-specific monitoring agencies and regulators, and making these regulators independent of public sector interference.
“Essentially, institutional frameworks cannot be applied for all sectors. The challenges for roads are different from ports, for example. Hence, separate frameworks are necessary for resolving disputes in various sectors,” said the official.
The announcement on the Dispute Resolution Bill was only one part of a promised infrastructure reform package by Jaitley in his Budget speech.
He had also announced formation of new guidelines for renegotiation of PPP concession agreements, and a new project-specific credit rating system.
The Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill contains a number of clauses to ensure contractual disputes between private partners and government agencies get resolved in a time-bound and institutional manner. Among other things, the Bill will seek establishment of sector-specific tribunals and monitoring agencies independent of the government, Business Standard has learnt.
The Bill was first proposed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Union Budget 2016-17. “A Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill will be introduced during the financial year 2016-17 to streamline institutional arrangements for resolution of disputes in infrastructure-related construction contracts, PPP and public utility contracts,” he had said. “The work on the draft Bill is almost complete. It is being circulated in various ministries for feedback and will be placed before the cabinet for approval soon. We are hoping it will be tabled in the ongoing session itself,” said an official.
A number of clauses are said to be similar to the recommendations of the Kelkar committee on revitalising the PPP model for infrastructure. It is this panel, led by former Finance Secretary and 13th Finance Commission Chairman Vijay Kelkar, that recommended sector-specific monitoring agencies and regulators, and making these regulators independent of public sector interference.
“Essentially, institutional frameworks cannot be applied for all sectors. The challenges for roads are different from ports, for example. Hence, separate frameworks are necessary for resolving disputes in various sectors,” said the official.
The announcement on the Dispute Resolution Bill was only one part of a promised infrastructure reform package by Jaitley in his Budget speech.
He had also announced formation of new guidelines for renegotiation of PPP concession agreements, and a new project-specific credit rating system.