Kick-starting Infrastructure

Sucheta Dalal 14 October 2014

Mihan and cargo clearance projects may lead the way

The Mihan file took 10 years to travel 500 meters; that is the tragedy of Mihan,” thundered prime minister Narendra Modi at a massive election rally in Nagpur. Mihan stands for Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in India. If implemented as originally envisaged, it could change the movement of goods across India through air, rail and road links, taking advantage of Nagpur’s location at the very centre of India. Mihan will pay a key role in Narendra Modi’s plan to build 100 smart cities and ensure basic infrastructure development in as many as 500 towns.

But, for 10 years now, the project has been virtually sabotaged by political vested interests, rivalry between the two coalition partners of the Maharashtra, and real estate sharks. Mihan’s problems started with the long initial delay in handing over the Nagpur airport. Then there were attempts to grab land and tarnish reputations through the media. All that took its toll on the project even though infrastructure worth nearly Rs3,000 crore is already in place; but the cargo hub with a similar outlay has still to be built.

Suddenly things are looking good for Mihan, with Nitin Gadkari in charge of infrastructure and transport ministries and the outstanding project implementer, RC Sinha (who built CIDCO city, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, 42 flyovers in Mumbai and the Panvel bypass in record time) as his advisor. But there is no doubt at all that an electoral victory in Maharashtra will provide the necessary massive impetus to take it forward.

The dynamic Mr Sinha, who quit Mihan in 2011 after a sustained media attack, is, however, not waiting for a change in political dispensation. A recent bout of hospitalisation has not dimmed his energy and he is busy working with port trust officials for a separate railway corporation that will transport cargo from Indian ports, hastening their clearance and reducing transportation time. This will run through vast tracts of land owned by the ports without requiring fresh land acquisition. Mr Modi’s plans for development of cities will hinge on a great road network and Mr Sinha’s pioneering work will come in handy.

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