Opinion - Editorials   

Industrial corridor, a test case

The decision of the Government of India to move ahead fast with the Japan-aided Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), despite the controversy over the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) needs to be welcomed. Considering that it spans six States, from Delhi to Maharashtra, and passes through some of the favoured investment destinations, both foreign and domestic investors are bound to show a lot of interest. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and his Japanese counterpart Akira Amari have agreed to get the DMIC going by January 2008. The framework for the corridor — a mega power plant, three ports, six airports and some SEZs thrown in — appears quite attractive, with a prospect of luring $50 billion in investments. The project was mooted during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo last December, when Japanese industrial houses showed considerable interest in participating in the project provided the supporting infrastructures met their exacting standards. Fortunately, the controversies over the SEZs seem to be dying down, with the Prime Minister coming out with an assurance on safeguarding the interests of farmers while implementing those projects. It is now government policy not to acquire farmland compulsorily but to let the private industries buy land on their own, with the government facilitating the land use conversion. If that system does work smoothly, the DMIC could become a very attractive proposition.

A significant aspect of the DMIC relates to its integration with the proposed dedicated rail freight corridor running through the industrial belts and the proposed SEZs. It would not only help the industrialised areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, but also help develop the hinterland. The DMIC, and the plan to promote Special Purpose Vehicles to take up individual projects along the corridor on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis, could surely emerge as a model, and as a test case during implementation. Its success and attractiveness to investors could determine the replication of these ventures in other regions of the country. Having gone this far and invited the Japanese to provide grants on the one hand, and promote investments on the other, it is incumbent on the part of the Government of India to make the DMIC succeed. Work on the 1,483 km-corridor is proposed to be completed in seven years, which will not be difficult if the Centre, the six State Governments, and the investors show the will. Such mega projects do encounter a great deal of problems and generate controversies. They need to be handled with sensitivity and with an eye on the ground realities.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Politics of immaturity
Industrial corridor, a test case
The fringe and the mainstream
Chequebook journalism and the hostages
World poverty reduced by growth in India and China
We need real evidence about cyberspace
IMF's plutocracy
Corrections and Clarifications
Rahul's remarks
Et tu?
Gere-Shilpa issue

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu