This status was earlier reserved only for power projects with a capacity of 1000 MW and above, or other projects which had investments of Rs 2000 crore or more.

The game plan for reducing the investment threshold for priority treatment was discussed on Thursday by Cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumar in consultation with the secretaries of finance and industry.

The idea is to look at every investment of Rs 500 crore or more individually. An inter-ministerial team will then work cohesively to ensure that red-tape is removed and procedural snags cleared.

An empowered committee of secretaries, headed by none other than Prabhat Kumar, is expected to monitor the progress of these projects. Decisions can be taken at this apex level in case the inter-ministerial committee is not in a position to resolve issues.

The proposal to bring down the threshold for "fast-track" projectsto the Rs 500-crore mark was mooted by the finance ministry. The idea was applied with only limited success to mega projects but there is an argument that the "fast-track" status does focus special attention to problems faced by promoters at the highest levels of bureaucracy.

What is more, since an inter-ministerial team is at work on these projects, there is a general understanding of the issues involved. Identification of snags and trouble shooting becomes that much easier.

The finance ministry does not seem to be very keen to provide fiscal reliefs for projects with investments of Rs 500 crore or above though the need for such relief was mooted by other ministries in discussions with the cabinet secretary in the past. The view point from North Block is that the issue is not of fiscal benefit as much as it is of red-tape and procedural blocks which have put the spanner in the works of large and medium-sized projects.

To facilitate flow of investment at the ground level, an empowered committee ofministers was also mooted for projects of Rs 500 crore or more. But the idea has so far been found unsuitable. Reason: There are hundreds of projects in this range and the political leadership is not be expected to deal with the nuts and bolts issues surrounding these projects.