With delay in administrative approval being a major hindrance in grounding of projects under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has asked the state government to get prior approval before submitting the projects for sanction.
V Ramakrishna Rao, executive director, Nabard has written to the state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik, seeking his personal intervention on the matter.
“The 118th project sanctioning committee of Nabard, in its meeting held on August 27, sanctioned those projects where administrative approval was not taken subject to obtaining the same before September 30.
“Also, the sanctioning committee has put prior administrative approval as a precondition for sanction of new projects. I would, hence, request your kind personal intervention in the matter and advise the finance and implementing departments to get prior administrative approval before submitting the projects for sanction to Nabard,” Rao has said in his letter to the Chief Secretary.
The administrative approval before submitting the project proposal to Nabard will ensure that on sanction of the projects by Nabard, technical sanction can be immediately issued followed by tendering which will improve the pace of grounding and implementation of projects, Rao said.
Nabard, which has been sanctioning loans to the state government under RIDF since 1995-96, has observed that delay in administrative approval in Orissa was one of the main reasons for the delay in grounding of projects.
Acting on Nabard's suggestion, the state finance department has asked the concerned line departments to take expeditious steps for according administrative approval for recommended projects so that work on these projects can been expedited.
Earlier in a circular dated January 11 last year, the state finance department had issued guidelines for process re-engineering for accelerated implementation of RIDF projects.
“Normally, administrative approval is allowed to be accorded for the infrastructure projects only if budgetary provision is available at least to the extent of 15 per cent of the project cost.
“However, in case of RIDF projects, this requirement would be waived and the departments concerned would be allowed to accord administrative approval and go ahead with the tendering process after the project is recommended by the regional office of Nabard.
“However, before finalizing the bids, administrative departments concerned may kindly ensure that the required acquisition of land, forest and other regulatory clearances as well as shifting of utilities is substantially completed so that the contractors do not face hindrances afterwards,” the circular read.
