PPP projects are complex and call for an implementing agency.
The need for a nodal agency for implementing public-private partnership (PPP) projects in infrastructure has been felt in many quarters. But, such a nodal agency should be headed by someone with technical expertise. This national facilitation committee should be headed by a technocrat.
That was the opinion of Aniruddha Ganguly, Executive Vice President & Group Head-Business and Integration, GMR Group. “Such entities are not new to India,” he added.
Stressing the importance of infrastructure and its impact on the general economy, he said, “Today we talk of high inflation rates. Some talk of supply constraints as being responsible for the inflation, while others say it is a global phenomenon. We need to clearly look where we are today as a country. The discourse in the country is that it is poised to achieve things that no country in history has done. Just think about it. Our country, when compared to all others, has the potential to reach heights which no other country in history has done. That indicates the kind of importance infrastructure needs to be given for development of a country that has so much to achieve,” he said.
Alas, “there has been no discourse on it,” rued Ganguly. That’s why we have push and pull — it’s one step forward and another step back. “There are a whole lot of people who have strong faith in PPPs. That’s why, to a large extent, some push for it and while some others pull against. That’s where there is a need for us to have a healthy discourse on change management. There are management degrees for change management. Until then we will go on questioning the motive of the private sector,” he said.
Ganguly believes that the private sector is looked upon with suspicion in the PPP model and the private sector wants an in-depth discussion in the government on this. “It is necessary that everyone understand that, given the right environment, we can be able partners. We have a Draft National PPP Policy. The preamble to the policy says, ‘In pursuance of this goal, the Government envisages a substantive role for public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a means for harnessing private sector investment and operational efficiencies in the provision of public assets and services’. Nowhere is there a focus on the customer,” pointed out Ganguly.
According to him, PPP projects are very complex and in the last two years, infrastructure companies have seen horror stories. “It’s because of uncertainties and huge cost implications. Policies are reversed without consideration for the concession agreement or anything else. The infrastructure companies are down by 63 per cent on the stock exchanges,” he said.
“We are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs,” said an analyst, referring to the private sector in the PPP model. “Here the role of academia and the intelligentsia is of great importance. They need to be active to bring in the issue of accountability. The view of academia, which understands the complexities of PPP projects, will help to arrive at assessments on economic implications,” the analyst added.
According to him, wide-ranging discussions on PPP policies will help educate the public on the importance of the economic rate of return and also on how these projects work as well as their benefits.
“We need to sit and say that we will continue with PPP projects and, if needed, make changes and improvements. Unless we consider the sentiments of the people, the private sector, which already faces all kinds of scrutiny, fears and regulations, will continue to be seen in a bad light,” Ganguly said.
