NEW DELHI, June 25: The Maharashtra government has already taken a decision to develop expressways and other roads with full private funding. The cost of the stretch of the roads to be built would be recovered by the entrepreneurs through toll levies in seven years.

As a special concession the builders would also be allowed to build and operate facilities along the road stretches to generate additional sources of income. The government has also decided to improve the rural roads and other infrastructures on its own. The Nabard has approved a Rs 600 crore loan for such projects.

State PWD minister Nitin Gadkari told The Financial Express that to make some of these projects financially viable, the government may have to participate by sharing the project cost in some cases. Some other concessions too would be accorded to make available some sources of income.

Gadkari justified the rejection of the Reliance bid for Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The Reliance had bid for Rs 3600 crore - almost three times more than the estimated cost of Rs 1400 crore. ``It was atrocious''. He ruled out any stretch of it being given to Reliance. ``Enron won't be repeated, I can assure you'', he added.

The entrepreneur would be allowed to recover his investment first and the investment of the government would be recovered later.

The state government also decided that the realisation of the toll would begin with the completion of each phase. The roads would be marked for completion in various phases.

The toll levies, however, would not be left to be collected by the private entrepreneurs. It would be collected all over the state by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and function as the nodal agency.

]However, Gadkari said, that the Bombay Motor Vehicles Tax Act had been suitably amended even to allow the private operators collect and retain the toll fees.

The MSRDC would also be entering into partnerships and extend even part of the funds in advance to unemployed civil engineers.

Gadkari said that all these projects have been so designed as to make these a model for the entire country not only merely providing a one-time opportunity to build the road but even have long term-interest by allowing the entrepreneurs to undertake construction and operation of petrol pumps, hotels and motels at approved locations by the roadside. They would also be permitted to retain income generated from tree plantation and display of advertisements.

The government would even allow the entrepreneurs to commercially exploit the land acquired by the government at fixed locations. They would be given such sites on long lease.

Gadkari said that he hoped that construction of the first of such expressways - Mumbai-Pune - would begin very soon as the environment minister Saifuddin Soz assured him of a formal clearance by the month-end. The project was held up as part of stretch passed through verdant forest rich in flora and fauna. Gadkari said that the state forest department so far had not been able to spot the mouse deer and giant squirrel in these areas. Some environmentalists had raked up the issue.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.