Are pending green clearances offering an easy exit route to private road developers? Officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) seem to think so.
They feel many developers are now realising that they had bid aggressively for operating a public-private partnership project.
At present, about 20 highway projects are awaiting a final nod from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, say official sources. These projects could be jeopardised if more developers opt to exit, citing such delays. Already two infrastructure majors — GMR and GVK — are in exit mode from two big projects.
COST OF DELAY
For developers, such delays mean soaring project costs on the back of higher finance and construction costs.
Delay in environment nod also has a direct bearing on their project revenue, which comes in form of toll from road users.
The Highways Ministry allows developers to collect toll only after an environment nod.
GMR Infra, which was not getting the right to start collecting toll revenues of about Rs 1.7 crore a day, decided to withdraw citing the pending environmental nod amongst others.
CHANGING NORMS
It has even moved the Delhi High Court to prevent NHAI from forfeiting the bank guarantee of about Rs 260 crore.
The National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF), the highway developers’ lobby body, says environment clearances are taking longer now due to policy changes in the last one-two years, such as clubbing forest clearances with environmental nods.
“In December 2012, the Environment Ministry said that companies have to submit details of specific areas where they will take soil and earth for building the highway while taking an environment nod,” said M. Murali, Director General, NHBF.
“Our concern is that the land owners of the identified areas may start demanding higher prices for soil later,” he added.
As for moving against developers, there are two layers of actions that NHAI can take - forfeit the bank guarantee of the developer and bar a developer from bidding for a year.
Meanwhile, the highways body is evaluating a move to take legal recourse against the Environment Ministry for certain interpretation delays in according the requisite clearances.
Mamuni.das@thehindu.co.in