Building a Safe and Environmentally Sound Road Network

Building a Safe and Environmentally Sound Road Network

Year Ender 2015

The year 2015 has seen strengthening of the resolve of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to create and maintain a countrywide network of road infrastructure that is mechanically strong, designed to ensure safety for commuters and is compatible with the requirements of efficient and sustainable development. The period has seen a lot of intense and focussed activity in the sector with the Ministry having taken several initiatives towards fulfilment of its larger objectives.

STATUS OF ROAD NETWORK IN THE COUNTRY: A SHORT BACKDROP

India has about 52.32 lakh kilometers of road network, which is the second largest in the world. The length of various categories of roads is as under:-

National Highways                                          1,00,475 km

State Highways                                               1,48,256 km

Other Roads                                                   49,83,579 km

 

          During the current FY till 30.11.2015, 5331 Kms length of National Highways have been awarded while 3480 Kms have been constructed. 

MAJOR HIGHWAY PROGRAMMES CURRENTLY UNDERWAY

1.      National Highways Development Programme

2.      SARDP-NE (Special programme for NE)

3.      LWE (Left Wing and Extremist affected areas)

 

National Highways Development Project (NHDP) – Updates as on 30.10.15

The Government launched National Highways Development Project (NHDP) to upgrade and strengthen National Highways. The phase-wise details of NHDP are as follows:

Sl. No.	NHDP Component	Total Length (km)	Completed length (km) as on 30.10.15	Under implementation (km)	Balance for award of civil works (km)	Estimated Cost (Rs. in Cr.)
1.	GQ under  NHDP Phase I	5,846	5,846	0	0	30,300 (NHDP Phase I) + 34,339 (NHDP  Phase II) = 64639
2.	NS-EW Corridors under NHDP Phase I & II	7,142	6,414	461	267
3.	Port Connectivity under NHAI	402	379	23	0
4.	Other NHs with NHAI	1859	1518	341	0
5.	NHDP Phase III	12,403	6,634	3,602	2,167	80,626
6.	NHDP Phase IV	20,000	2,441	8,034	9,525	27,800
7.	NHDP Phase V	6,500	2,264	1,401	2,835	41,210
8.	NHDP Phase VI	1,000	0	135	865	16,680
9.	NHDP Phase VII	700	22	19	659	16,680
	Total	55,852#	25,518	14,016	16,318	247,635

(# included 48428 km of total NHs, 24km length of Chennai—Ennore port connectivity road, 700kms NH length under NHDP –VII, other than overlapping length of NHs (5700 kms NH length is common under NHDP-I and NHDP-V).

Improvement of road connectivity in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas

The Government has approved a scheme for development of about 1,177km of NHs and 4,276km of State Roads in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas as a Special Project with an estimated cost of about Rs. 7,300 Crore.  

·         Development of Vijayawada Ranchi route

            Out of 1,622 km long LWE affected Vijayawada - Ranchi route, development of 600 km (net length 594 km) of State Roads in Odisha (548 km Newly declared NH and 46 km SH), not covered in any Central or State Scheme has been approved by the Government at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore on 4^th November, 2010.

       

So far, the detailed estimates for all the 9 packages in an aggregate length of 594 km have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,333 crore and works were awarded. Out of these, 2 Nos works covering 157 km length were terminated and they have been re-awarded.

Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-Eastern region (SARDP-NE)          

            The scheme has been envisaged to be taken up under three parts as under:-

Phase ‘A’ of SARDP-NE approved by the Government envisages improvement of about 4,099 km length of roads (2,041 km of NH and 2,058 km of State roads). 

Phase ‘B’ of SARDP-NE, covers 3,723 km (1,285 km NHs and 2,438 km of State roads) of road. Phase ‘B’ SARDP-NE shall be taken up after completion of Phase ‘A’, which is targeted for completion by March 2017.

Arunachal Pradesh Package:  The Arunachal Pradesh Package for Road & Highways involving development of about 2,319 km length of road (1,472 km of NHs & 847 km of State / General Staff / Strategic Roads) has also been approved by the Government. Projects on 776 km are to be taken up on BOT (Annuity) mode and the remaining are to be developed on item rate contract basis.

             Balance length of NHs to be covered under NH (O)

Sl. No.	Item	Length (km)
(i)	Total length of NH Network	1,00,475
(ii)	Length of NH under various phases of NHDP	48,428$
(iii)	Length of NH under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-East Region including Arunachal Pradesh Package	5,562
(iv)	Development of road (NH) in Left Wing Extremism affected areas	1,177
(v)	Length with NHIDCL	1,164
(vi)	NHIIP (Externally aided projects)	1,120
(vii)	VGF / EPC Scheme under NH(O)	1,730
(viii)	Vijayawada Ranchi Corridor	548
	Total from (ii) to (vii)	59,575
	Balance length of NHs to be covered under NH(O)	40,900

^$- Out of this 32,155 km is entrusted with NHAI.

Major Schemes for development of Non-NHDP NHs through NH (O)

National Highway Interconnectivity Improvement Program (NHIIP) under proposed World Bank Loan Assistance

            About 1,120 km length of NHs are proposed to be improved to 2-lane NH standards following corridor development approach under the World Bank Loan Assistance in Phase-I.  DPR preparation for all 11 stretches in Phase- I has been completed and 10 Contracts out of total 15 nos. have been already awarded. Loan Agreement for Phase-I (1,120 km under first tranches of Loan Assistance of US$ 500 Million) was signed with World Bank on 1 July, 2014. 

           

For the proposed execution of projects under World Bank Loan Assistance as mentioned above, the cost of LA and utility shifting are to be borne by the Government of India as per the policy of the World Bank.

Ministry’s initiatives to leverage more resources through Private Sector Investment for development of non-NHDP NHs

            About 17 projects of about 1,950 km length were identified as non-NHDP NH Sections for taking up on BOT(Toll) basis through private sector participation. However, 13 projects for about 1395 km length have been awarded under BOT (Toll) basis and a length of 846 has already been completed. The remaining stretches which could not be awarded under BOT (Toll) basis, are being awarded under EPC Mode under NH (O).

For BOT (Toll) projects, the cost for preconstruction activities are to be met from the available allocations under NH(O). The Viability Gap Funding (VGF) upto 20% of the Total Project Cost (TPC) for these projects are proposed to be met from the support from the Ministry of Finance under its VGF Scheme; the balance VGF upto 20% is to be met from available allocations of the Ministry under NH (O).  Taking up of these projects on BOT (Toll) would ensure their proper long term operation and maintenance.

           

New Initiatives

 

1.      Bharat Mala -5500 km - to develop roads along the international borders and coastal areas

2.      Special Scheme - 6000 km - roads facilitating connectivity to religious /tourist places and providing connectivity to backward regions

3.      District Connectivity -  development of National Highways providing connectivity to district headquarters

4.      Setu Bharatam - All the level crossings and narrow/weak bridges to be replaced by Railway Over / Under Bridges and new constructions

 

PROPOSED EXPRESSWAYS

(i)      The Government of India has approved a plan for constructing 1000 km of Expressways under NHDP Phase-VI at a cost of Rs. 16,680 Cr. on DBFOT basis. As per approval of the Cabinet, main criteria for selection of Expressway corridors will be the traffic volume and it was approved that the highest density corridor i.e. Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor (400km) be given top priority. It was also decided that remaining 600 km will be selected out of the routes identified on the basis of traffic volume. The high density corridors approved under NHDP Phase-VI are as under:

·         Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor (400 km)

·         Delhi-Meerut (66km) on NH-58

·         Bangalore-Chennai (334 km) on NH-4

·         Delhi-Jaipur (261 km) on NH-8

·         Delhi-Chandigarh (249 km) on NH-1 and NH-22

·         Kolkata-Dhanbad (277 km) on NH-2 and

·         Delhi-Agra (200 km) on NH-2.

In addition to above, Government has approved to take up Eastern Peripheral Expressway-135 km, which is not a part of NHDP Phase VI.

(ii)     The Government has prioritized the following Expressways:

·         Eastern Peripheral Expressway

·         Delhi-Meerut Expressway

·         Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway

In addition to the above the Government is also considering construction of a few more Expressways as follows:

·         Nagpur – Mumbai

·         Jaipur – Ajmer - Ahmedabad

·         Nagpur – Hyderabad

·         Pune – Hyderabad

·         Hyderabad – Bangalore

·         Amravati – Hyderabad- Bangalore

·         Delhi – Amritsar- Jammu- Katra

Targets for 2015-16

During this year 2015-16, the Ministry has target to award 10,000Km of National Highways, which is 25% more than the stretches awarded during last year.  Similarly, Ministry has target to complete work in 6300 km of stretches, which is around 45% more the km completed during the last year.

PPPs showing signs of recovery

PPPs are also showing signs of recovery. In 2015 -16, 7 PPP projects with aggregate length of 874 Kms and cost of Rs 11,927 Cr. have been awarded so far.

 

MAJOR POLICY INITIATIVES

 

The Government has progressively taken many policy decisions in the sector, designed to facilitate the execution of work and make it speedier, more efficient and transparent. After the important initiatives taken in 2014 which include empowering Ministry of RT&H to decide Mode of Delivery of projects, giving it enhanced appraisal powers and providing a mechanism for inter-ministerial coordination, some of the major initiatives of 2015 are as follows:

 

1.      Exit Policy – This is aimed at improving the availability of equity in the market. The Exit Policy framework permits concessionaires/developers to divest 100 percent equity and exit all operational BOT projects two years after completion of construction. This would help unlock equity from completed projects making it potentially available for investment into new infrastructure projects across the country.

 

2.      Fund Infusion To Salvage Languishing Projects - This initiative authorizes the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to intervene in projects that are in the advanced stage of completion but are stuck due to lack of funds. NHAI has been authorized to provide funds to such projects from within its overall budget/corpus on a loan basis at a pre-determined rate of return. This loan is to be recovered along with interest as the first charge from the toll receipts immediately after completion of construction

 

Out of a total of 73 languishing projects, issues have been resolved for 19. Contracts for another 39 projects have been terminated and the same are being restructured and rebid.

3.      Rationalized compensation to concessionaires for languishing NH projects in BOT mode for delays not attributable to concessionaires – the Cabinet has approved the same which would add to the comfort level of prospective project concessionaires.

4.      Amendments to the Model Concession Agreement – A committee under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary has been authorized to make amendments. Certain changes have been approved by the  Committee.

 

5.      Segregation of Civil Construction cost from Capital Cost of National Highways projects for appraisal and approval – The Government has approved segregation of construction cost from cost for land acquisition, centages and pre-construction activities for the purpose of appraisal and approval of National Highways projects for the following dispensation:

(a)  All NH projects with a civil construction cost of up to Rs.1000 crore shall be appraised by SFC/EFC/PIB headed by secretary, Road Transport and Highways and approved by Minister, RT&H.

(b)  All NH projects with a civil construction cost above Rs.1000 crore shall be appraised by PPPAC/EFC/PIB headed by Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs/Expenditure and approved by CCEA.
This measures will help cut down delays in the process of appraisal and approval of NH projects.

 

6.      Hybrid Annuity Mode of Delivery - A new mode of delivery under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, namely Hybrid Annuity Model, is being promoted for awarding road projects for implementation under which 40% of project cost is being provided by the Government to the concessionaire. Remaining 60% is to be arranged in form of debt and equity to be compensated over 15 years as bi-annual annuities. There is separate provision for O&M payments by the Government to the concessionaire. The private party does not have to bear the traffic risk. All the payments have been inflation indexed by a Price Multiple Index which is a weighted average of WPI and CPI (IW) on 70:30 bases. This mitigates the inflation risk for the developer.

 

21 Highways projects have been identified to be implemented on this Model in the current fiscal. Confidence of the stakeholders in this model is evident from the fact that for the Meerut-Bulandshahr project, 4 bids have been received till the Bid Due Date of 09.12.2015. The bids are currently under evaluation.

 

 

7.      NHAI Issues Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds - National Highways Authority of India is raising funds through public issue of tax free, secured, redeemable non-convertible bonds with Face Value of Rs 1,000 each for an amount of Rs 1,000 crore with an option to retain over subscription of upto additional Rs 9,000 crore,  aggregating upto a total of Rs 10,000 crore.

 

8.      Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working on a proposal to replace  the “Motor Vehicles Act, 1988” with a new Act namely “The Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015” which inter-alia proposes to put in place the National Road Safety and National Transport Authority which would be tasked to address the engineering, education, enforcement, monitoring and emergency care standards for road safety. The Bill also tries to remove the practices which are adverse to road safety and efficient use of transport system. It also proposes to bring Multi Modal Coordination Authority to improve the efficiency in the transport sector. On the advice of PMO, the latest version of the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015 was sent to all the States/UTs on 4^th June, 2015 seeking their comments/views.  About twenty State Governments/UTs have so far furnished their comments. Reminders to States/UTs from where comments/suggestions have not been received were sent. The Bill has been uploaded on Ministry’s official web site: www.morth.nic.in.

 

PROMOTING ROAD SAFETY

“Government of India is committed to improving safety, efficiency and sustainability in the transport sector and believes that only a safe system can be sustainable in the long run.” Minister of Road Transport and Highway Shri Nitin Gadkari said this while  addressing the global conference on traffic safety in Brasilia in November this year. This is a reiteration of the government’s  objectives to make Indian roads safe for the public and bring down the number of fatal accidents. The government has taken many steps in this direction during the past years and efforts continued in this direction during 2015. The highlights of the initiatives are as follows:

 

1.      Road safety is being accorded highest priority and safety elements are being incorporated into designing of roads.

 

2.      Steps are being taken to identify black spots on highways and take remedial measures to reduce accidents at these spots.

 

3.      Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, which is in an advanced stage of consideration by the government, proposes an integrated approach to road safety and road transport .

 

4.      Integrated Vehicle Registration and Driving License System  - Government had developed applications http://vahan.nic.in for vehicle registration and http://sarthi.nic.in for driving licence. NIC has seen 100 % success in the deployment of these across the country. State Registers and National Registers have been created to consolidate the data base and all states and UTs have been connected. The National Registry contains more than 16 crore vehicle records and 6 crore license records. The State Transport Departments have access to the digitized data on registration and license. Various government and non government agencies also have access to the data. Various citizen-centric services are being rolled out based on the NR and SR applications. Vahan and Sarthi applications are now being revamped into web enabled, centralized architecture to provide unified, cloud enabled delivery of services. The application will be designed to meet the different requirements of various states and UTs and will have features like single sign on, biometric authentification, multiple option for e payment, SMS intimation etc. States are also being given incentives to enter their data so that there can be a single data base for the whole country.

 

5.      Automated Camera Based Driving Test System – This test system developed by CIRT Pune provides an unbiased and transparent driving test mechanism with lesser human intervention, It is being used for testing license aspirants in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad regions. The system is also being set up at Chandigarh .

 

6.      Cashless Treatment for Road Accident Victims – This project was launched in August 2014 on a pilot basis on the following  stretches of National Highway-

 

i.                     Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH 8

ii.                   Ranchi – Rargaon – Mahulia stretch of NH 33

 

The purpose was to provide prompt medical care to accident victims during the Golden Hour. A toll free number 1033 has been started for reporting accidents. A 24X7 Call Centre has been set up to receive reports of accidents, deploy ambulances, alert police, hospitals and other such agencies.

 

7.    Safety of Women in Public Transport Under Nirbhaya Fund Scheme - This is a scheme that proposes to provide for the safety of women in public transport A contract was signed between MoRTH and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Systems Ltd (DIMTS) to provide Project Management Consultancy for smooth implementation of the project. Under this scheme, following activities have been undertaken:-

·         Concept Report, Technology Analysis Report, Detailed Specification document for GPS and detailed specification document for CCTV have been finalized.

·         Draft Request for Proposal for selection of agency for design, implementation, operation and maintenance of the back-end system for National Level Vehicle Security & Tracking System and Draft Detailed Project Report has been submitted by Consultant.

(i)         A core committee was formed under the chairmanship of Prof. N. Balakrishnan to review the schemes under “Nirbhaya Fund”. The Committee recommended for implementation of the MoRTH scheme on a pilot basis at two cities before its roll out on a national level.

(ii).       The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister in meeting held on 19.05.2015 has directed MoRTH to re-examine the objectives of the scheme in line with core committee recommendations.

           

           (iii)        At present, feasibility of the scheme is being re-examined in line with core committee recommendations.

PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOMNENT

 

Many initiatives were taken by the Ministry to promote sustainable development. These include :

 

1.      Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015

            The Government has launched the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy – 2015.  The vision of the Policy is to develop eco-friendly National Highways with the participation of community, farmers, NGOs and private sector.  The policy will help to improve aesthetics of the project corridors and places of importance by planting selective ornamental trees, landscaping and turfing with grasses and ornamental shrubs.  The plantation along the highway will help to reduce the impact of air pollution and dust and will check soil erosion at the embankment slopes.

 

2.       Ethanol – Fuelled Bus- Notification was issued for mass emission standards for flex-fuel ethanol E85 and ED95 . This Notification will enable vehicle manufacturers to manufacture vehicles running on bio-ethanol E85 and ED95. A bio-ethanol fuel bus is already under trial in Nagpur.

 

3.      E-rickshaws and E-carts – After laying down statutory norms / specifications for construction and maintenance of E rickshaws and facilitating their registration last year, the Government promulgated an Ordinance for giving relief to drivers of E-rickshaws and E-carts. The Ordinance enables the grant of driving licence for E-Rickshaw and E-Cart drivers holding LMV licence, without waiting for the prescribed one year period required for transport vehicles.

 

4.      Bio- CNG and Bio- Diesel – Notification has been issued for norms for the use of Bio-CNG for testing and exhaust emission for vehicles running on Bio-CNG. With this notification, the vehicle manufacturers can manufacture, sell and get vehicles fuelled by Bio-CNG in the country. Draft Notification was also formulated for Mass Emission Standards for Bio-diesel (B 100) fuelled vehicles. Oil Marketing Companies launched Bio Diesel supplies in some retail outlets at Delhi, Vijayawada, Haldia and Vizag.

 

5.    BS IV Compliance for 4 wheelers- Notification was issued for introduction of BS IV compliant four wheel motor vehicle according to which Mass Emission Standards for Bharat Stage IV shall come into force all over the country from 1^st April 2017. With this only those newly manufactured four-wheeled vehicles, which are complaint with the BS-IV standards will be allowed to be registered and move on roads with effect from the notified dates. 

 

6.      BS V and VI Norms - Draft notification has been  issued advancing the date for implementation of BS-V norms  roll out from  1^st April 2020 to 1^st April 2019 and BS-VI norms from 1st April 2024 to 1^st April2021 for automobile sector

 

7.      Scientific Studies on Designing Greenbelt -NHAI approved a pilot project submitted by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur for undertaking scientific studies on designing greenbelts along national highways.  The project will be implemented on a 5 km stretch on NH-7 between Jam and Hinganghat in Nagpur region.

 

8.      Conversion of Diesel buses to battery powered Electric – As part of a pilot project to convert diesel buses to battery operated electric buses, the first prototype of one such bus was demonstrated in Parliament in the presence of the Prime Minister. The bus will be used by Members of Parliament. 10 more diesel buses are proposed to be converted to electric for State Transport authorities.

 

E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES

The Ministry of RT&H has brought in a number of e-governance initiatives which include

1.      Electronic Toll Collection - In order to remove traffic bottleneck at toll plazas and ensure seamless movement of vehicles  and hassle-free collection of toll, the Government will implement a nation wide Electronic Toll Collection based on  passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) conforming to EPC Gen-2, ISO 18000-6C standards.. For this, EFC equipment installation is completed at 248 Fee Plazas and integration with Central Clearing House (CCH) is completed on 179 Fee plazas.  Interoperable EFC has been commissioned on Delhi-Chandigarh and Chennai-Bengaluru stretches  of National Highways.

 

2.      Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC)- A web portal has been launched for online approval of movement of Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC). This is expected to  ensure smoother movement of heavy transport and make system corruption free.

 

3.      Online Bill Payment - New Web Based System inaugurated to make payment process for National Highway works more transparent. The new monitoring system is also expected to facilitate easy communication between various offices and allow a user to track the status of a bill. 

 

4.      INAM-PRO- a web portal was launched to facilitate monitoring of supply of cement and expedite placing of purchase orders by users . The portal, designed by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is designed to  ensure complete transparency in the supply of cement, so as to achieve reduction in the cost of construction of rigid pavement. 

 

5.      Road Asset Management System (RAMS) - A state of the art integrated data collection system was launched. The system will compile information on road assets, condition of the pavements and traffic through use of laser technology. It will assist in developing an accurate and scientific maintenance planning mechanism, finalizing road safety measures and development of the National Highways network in India. The data collected will be stored and managed through a web based application, which will be hosted in the public domain. The application, when fully developed, can also be accessed by smart phones. The development of Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for the entire National Highways along with collection of requisite data over 3,000 km of the pilot road network is underway as part of the Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative. The data collection over the pilot network of 3,000 km commenced from Nagpur on 5 May 2015 on trial basis.

 

6.      Toll Management Systems- Toll Management Systems including CCTV Surveillance, Weigh-in Motion, Static Weigh Bridge, at Toll Plazas of Public Funded Projects are being implemented

 

7.      National Highways Toll Information System – A web portal www.nhtis.org has been launched to provide road users valuable information about the National Highways and Expressways, including applicable user fee rates at Toll plazas.

 

8.      e-Pace – (Project Appraisal and Continuing Enhancement ) is a tool that captures all information about projects being executed by Ministry of RT&H, NHAI and NHIDCL across its entire lifecycle.. The information will be in public domain. The tool  will help in monitoring of the projects and accelerating their speed.

 .          Data for over 1500 projects have been entered so far

9.    Automatic Traffic Counter and Classifier (ATCC) -To standardize the process of data collection and creating of central data repository, traffic surveys on National Highways using Portable Automatic Traffic Counter and Classifier (ATCC) Systems is being conducted. Total 1609 locations have been divided in 7 zones. 1^st round of surveys have been completed on 1410 locations. The data for 830 locations have been uploaded on the web server.

10.  Integration of border check posts with fee plazas - AS-IS study for integration of border check posts with fee plazas on the NHs on the direction of the PMO, has been completed.

CITIZEN  CENTRIC  INITIATIVES

1.       Wayside Amenities - 39 locations have been finalized for setting up of wayside amenities on National Highways. The proposed amenities include parking, restaurants/ low cost dhabas, telephone booth, WiFi, ATM, fuel station, rest room, repairshops, chemist shops, handicraft shops etc.

 

2.       Discontinuation of toll  at 65 fee plazas.

 

3.       24x7 Unique Toll Free Helpline Number “1033”   for Road users. on National Highways has been commissioned.

4.       National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 has been amended further to incorporate stringent fee rates for preventing overloading and ensuring road safety.

 

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

1.      Transport cooperation between India and Republic of Korea -A Framework of Cooperation in the field of Road Transport and Highways between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea was signed on 18.05.2015.

2.      Indo –US  Transportation Partnership – A Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways and Shipping of the Government of India and the Department of Transportation of the United States of America for a India-US Transportation partnership was signed on 08.04.2015 during the visit of Secretary of US Transportation Department to New Delhi.

 

3.      BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement -India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh (BBIN) signed a landmark Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger, Personnel and Cargo Vehicular Traffic among the four South Asian neighbours in Thimpu,. The MVA agreement between sub-grouping of four SAARC nations, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) will pave the way for a seamless movement of people and goods across their borders for the benefit and integration of the region and its economic development.

 

4.      Passenger bus service between India and Bangladesh- An Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for passenger bus services between the two countries was signed on 06.06.2015 at Dhaka and bus services on Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka route and Kolkata- Agartala via Dhaka route were flagged off by Prime Ministers of both countries at Dhaka on 06.06.2015. 

 

5.      The first BBIN Friendship car rally started from Bhubaneswar on 14^th November, went through eastern and north eastern states of India, Bhutan and Bangladesh and ended at Kolkata on 3^rd December. The rally, which covered about 4700 km, focused on “Safe Motoring” apart from Regional Connectivity

 

6.      India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) Motor Vehicle Agreement A meeting of Transport Secretaries of India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) was held on 13-14^th July, 2015 in Bangkok for finalizing the text of Protocol and its Schedules which would be part of the IMT MVA. The three countries have agreed in the meeting that the IMT MVA text of which has already been agreed to by the countries can be signed during a Transport Ministers’ meeting of three countries in Myanmar after the respective country Governments would complete their internal approval processes.

 

7.      India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) trial run for passenger vehicles is being organized          between India and Myanmar from Imphal in Manipur to Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar.  

 

8.      India-Nepal Cross Border Transport Facilitation- The First meeting of India-Nepal Cross Border Transport Facilitation Joint Working Group (CBTFJWG) under the Motor Vehicle Agreement between India and Nepal for regulation of vehicular traffic between the two countries was held at New Delhi on 16-17 July, 2015. The CBTFJWG took various decisions required under the Agreement for its smooth implementation.  The following 4 new routes among the various routes proposed by both sides, was agreed upon for starting regular bus services between the countries after the operators of the services from either side are mutually identified:-

 

(i)         Kathmandu- Patna- Bodhgaya

(ii)        Mahendranagar -Delhi

(iii)       Siliguri- Kakarbhitta- Kathmandu

(iv)       Jankapur- Patna

“Saral Avedan, Sugam Prakriya, Swachh Prashasan” key to Good Governance initiatives of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

“Saral Avedan, Sugam Prakriya, Swachh Prashasan” key to Good Governance initiatives of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has said the government is dedicated to service of the people of India in a true sense. Addressing a Press Conference here today to mark the Good Governance Day, Dr. Jitendra Singh said the government has been taking steps to ensure that the tax payers’ money, which is being spent through various schemes for benefit of the deserving segments, reaches them easily in required shape and measure in time.

“But this only is not enough. We strongly believe that the dignity and respect of the beneficiary is very important and it should not be allowed to be compromised in any way while implementing these beneficiary oriented schemes. It should not be that they feel obliged for the care the government takes of them. Rather it is the government who should feel privileged to be able to be of help its citizens in need,” said Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), keeping this concept in the background, has taken many concrete steps for bring in citizen centricity to the core of all its delivery mechanisms. Important components have been included in training modules being imparted to government officials. Various employee welfare measures have been introduced to develop a sense of compassion and care among them for the citizenry for whom they are working.

“On this “Good Governance Day” I am announcing yet another step, an important one, for furthering this objective,” said Dr. Jitendra Singh.

“Today when a beneficiary has to access government schemes, he/she has to fill up lengthy forms, often complicated and give a lot of information repeatedly. On top of it they have to give affidavits and attested copies of a lot of documents as enclosures and wait for indefinite periods with their fingers crossed. Why cannot we have simpler forms seeking only essential information? Why should not we believe our citizens and only seek self attestation of information that they are submitting? It is our bounden duty to deliver services in time with least inconvenience. There is a need to have a critical look at the current procedures and forms in use in various Departments and Ministries in the government. There is a need to eliminate layers of decision making for adding speed to the disposal mechanism. There is a need to specify one page forms seeking essential information for upholding the dignity of our citizens,” he said.

National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), an organisation with DoPT, is providing necessary direction, guidance and capacity building inputs on Governance and management issues to the Central and State Government and their organisations. NCGG has initiated a series of workshops in partnership with various Ministries/Departments in Government of India with a view to look at their schemes for simplifying procedures and forms with the following objectives:

The convenience of the beneficiaries should prevail over the convenience of the department administering the scheme.

1. The approach of the department towards the beneficiaries should, as far as possible, be based on trust. Hence self certification should be enough.

2. Overall aim should be to make the forms as simple and small ( a single A 4 size page) as possible for the beneficiary.

3. Contents of the forms should be easy to understand and complete. The certificates and documents to be attached with the forms should be easy for the beneficiary to obtain.

4. Intended benefit must reach the eligible beneficiary quickly with dignity.

5. The focus of NCGG is to analyse policy and programme implementation, developing synergies across various sectors, ministries/departments and providing necessary direction and support to Central and State Government organisations and Training Institutes.

To deliberate and develop its mandate and prepare a roadmap for its future initiatives, NCGG organised a one-day National Stakeholders’ Consultation in December 2014. Simplification of complex procedures, proformas and forms for convenience of citizens and providing trust based efficient public service delivery, emerged as a priority theme in the conference. With this end, in 2015-16, NCGG has initiated a series of workshops in partnership with ministries/departments under the banner of “Saral Avedan, Sugam Prakriya, Swachh Prashasan.”

NCGG organised the first National Workshop on Citizen Centric Governance on September 12, 2015 in association with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India and The Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), Chandigarh. The workshop sessions involved perspective sharing by stakeholder, presentation on experiences in states and best practices for replication and group work by participants to review procedures and forms and evolve an integrative system for delivery of services. The key outcomes of the workshop were- (I) 20 forms were discussed, simplified and recommended to states for adoption (ii) a draft sample simplified form from Explosive Rules, 2008 was presented and 6 forms were simplified.

In continuation of the objective to reduce the gap between the service delivery mechanism and the beneficiaries, the second National Workshop on Citizen Centric Governance was organised on December 18, 2015 in association with the National Social Assistance Programme of the Ministry of Rural Development, and Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Directorate General, Labour Welfare of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The workshop comprised of panel discussions, group work and interactive sessions with the key results in each department being (i) NSAP simplified 3 forms into single page forms (ii) EPFO simplified procedures for employers, employees and pensioners through online processes (iii) ESIC reviewed 6 certificates and claim forms which were combined into 3 single page forms (iv) DGLW simplified 20 forms into one page forms.

On Good Governance Day, Health Minister announces 4 new IT-based initiatives for citizen-centric health services

On Good Governance Day, Health Minister announces 4 new IT-based initiatives for citizen-centric health services

Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare announced four new IT-based initiatives on Good Governance Day, to mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Shri Madan Mohan Malaviya and birthday of Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, here today. He was speaking at the launch of the AIIMS OPD Transformation Project which envisages the use of IT to provide ease to patients and citizens while accessing services at AIIMS. This is being supported by the Tata Consultancy services as part of their CSR initiative.

Enumerating the first of the initiatives, the Health Minister announced ‘Kilkari’. A major IT initiative, Kilkari is an audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child care. Each pregnant woman and infant’s mother, registered in Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS), a web- enabled name-based system to monitor and ensure delivery of full spectrum of services to all pregnant women and children, would receive weekly voice messages relevant to the stage of pregnancy or age of the infant. The 72 messages would reach the targeted beneficiaries from the 4th month of pregnancy until the child is one year old. On an average, the duration of each message is two minutes. Such messages will empower and educate women and parents to help create a better environment in maternal and child health. This service will be provided free to the beneficiaries. In the first phase of implementation, such messages would be sent to the pregnant women and infants’ mothers in six States in Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and HPDs of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. They are being developed in Hindi, English and Odiya languages in the first phase, to be later expanded to other languages to cover the entire country and would benefit over 2 crore pregnant women and 2 crore infants, annually.

The Health Minister also stated that a new mobile-based application, Mobile Academy, has been developed through which about 9000,000 ASHAs will be trained using mobile services. This will aid in enhancing their inter-personal skills. Once registered, ASHAs can access the 240-minute course via their mobile phones. They can then complete the standardized course at their convenience. Digital bookmarking technology enables ASHAs to complete the course at their own pace. The course is divided into eleven chapters each containing four lessons. There is a quiz at the end of each chapter. ASHAs successfully completing the course by securing more than minimum prescribed marks will receive a Certificate of completion from the Government.

As continuation of the Ministry’s new IT-based initiatives, Shri Nadda informed about making the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) more patient-centric. A dedicated toll free number, 1 8 0 0 - 1 1 – 6 6 6 6, with a call centre is being started to provide round the clock support for patient counselling and treatment support services. This call centre will have trained personnel to provide feedback to patients and also link or refer chest symptomatic persons to RNTCP services. Under this initiative, callers can give a missed call or call to get complete support for diagnosis, treatment and support for the completion of treatment on the national toll free number, the Minister informed. This initiative is being started in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Shri Nadda also announced ‘M-Cessation’. This will be an IT-enabled tool to help tobacco users to quit tobacco. Built on a helpline concept, it will register beneficiaries on the basis of a missed call. The counselling would be done through a two-way SMS process, the Minister informed.

Parliament passes the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 with the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha today

Parliament passes the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 with the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha today

Parliament passes the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 with the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha today

The Rajya Sabha passed the landmark Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 today. With this, the Bill stands passed in the Parliament. The Bill was earlier passed by the Lower House of the Parliament, Lok Sabha 7th May this year.

In her introductory remarks to the motion for consideration and passage of the Bill, the Women and Child Development Minister Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 will help to arrest the rise in Juvenile crime , which according to reports is the fastest rising segment of crime. It is a compassionate Bill which will at the same time act as a deterrent, she explained. Giving details, Smt Maneka Gandhi said that, if made into law, it will not send the juvenile offender directly to the jail. Whether the child committed the crime of heinous category in an adult or child mind, will be first assessed by the Juvenile Justice Board, the Minister briefed the House. This Board will comprise of psychologists, social workers and experts. The Minister urged the House, “The Bill was started by you (Opposition), finished by us but it is a matter of the whole House.” The Minister said that it is not a retrospective Bill, and cannot be applied to the Juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case, but it can deter many other boys from doing the same in future. The juvenile offenders have also been committing heinous crimes against other children, there is a need to bring justice to these children, she added. It is a comprehensive Bill and has subject of Adoption as well as Foster care in it, the Minister said.

The JJ Bill, 2015 will now become an Act with the Presidential approval.

This law will strengthen provisions for both children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law. For the first time, offences have been clearly defined and classified as petty, serious and heinous based on provisions of IPC. Under Section 15, special provisions have been made to tackle child offenders committing heinous offences in the age group of 16-18 years.

The Juvenile Justice Board has been given the option to transfer cases of heinous offences by such children to a Children’s Court (Court of Session) after conducting preliminary assessment. The provisions provide for placing children in a ‘place of safety’ both during and after the trial till they attain the age of 21 years after which an evaluation of the child shall be conducted by the Children’s Court. After the evaluation, the child is either released on probation and if the child is not reformed then the child will be sent to a jail for remaining term.

The enactment of this law will act as a deterrent for child offenders committing heinous offences such as rape and murder and will protect the rights of victim.

To streamline adoption procedures for orphan, abandoned and surrendered children, the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively. There is a separate chapter on Adoption which provides detailed provisions relating to adoption and punishments for not complying with the laid down procedure. Processes have been streamlined with timelines for both in-country and inter-country adoption including declaring a child legally free for adoption.

Several rehabilitation and social reintegration measures have been provided for institutionalization and non-institutionalization of children. Under the institutional care, children are to be provided with various services including education, health, nutrition, de-addiction, treatment of diseases, vocational training, skill development, life skill education, counselling, etc to help them assume a constructive role in the society. The variety of non-institutional options include: sponsorship and foster care including group foster care for placing children in a family environment which is other than child’s biological family, which is to be selected, qualified, approved and supervised for providing care to children.

Several new offences committed against children, which are so far not adequately covered under any other law, have also been made part of this law. These include: sale and procurement of children for any purpose including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care institutions, use of child by militant groups, offences against disabled children and, kidnapping and abduction of children.