IAS officer seeks policy copyright

Plan panel adviser seeks protection for model road concession.

In probably the first instance of its kind, a civil servant has sought copyright protection for a policy document that he may have prepared as part of his duty.

Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Gajendra Haldea, who is at present adviser to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, has sought copyright protection for the model concession agreement to be used by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for public-private partnership projects.

The proposed copyright will not apply to the use of the document by the central government and its agencies, including the NHAI. Haldea can, however, haul up state governments or foreign agencies for violation of intellectual property rights if they use the document without permission.

The model concession agreement, prepared by the department of road transport and highways in August 2005, carries the following disclaimer: "This document has been drafted by Gajendra Haldea for the implementation of road projects by the government of India or any of its agencies. The author dedicates his work to the government of India for the development of national highways and the economic growth associated with it. Save to the extent hereinbefore specified, all rights are reserved with the author...."

So far, the copyright has not been granted to Haldea but it has triggered a debate among central ministries and even in the Prime Minister's Office.

A section of the bureaucracy is of the opinion that Haldea should not be given the copyright since he is a government employee and that, it is part of his job to prepare the document. They contend that the model concession agreement contains inputs provided by several other ministries.

Haldea's justification in seeking a copyright is that he has been associated with model concession agreements since 1997-98 when he was posted as joint secretary handling infrastructure matters in the finance ministry.

Subsequently, in 2000, when he was associated with the National Council for Applied Economic Research, he published a book"""Indian Highways: A Framework for Commercialisation,"""which also contained schedules to the model concession agreement. Madhya Pradesh has used the book for framing model concession agreements for road projects.

Haldea was planning a second edition of his book whose contents would have been similar to the model concession agreement for public-private partnership projects approved by the Prime Minister's Committee on Infrastructure.

In January this year, the NHAI was mandated to prepare a model concession agreement but there was no consensus on the draft till April. Haldea then produced a document, saying it was prepared during his stint away from the government, officials said.

The document was deliberated upon by an inter-ministerial group but there was no unanimity. In July this year, the roads and highways ministry and the NHAI produced another draft, which was unacceptable to some other ministries.

Subsequently, the draft prepared by Haldea, for which he has claimed copyright protection, was modified and cleared by the committee.