Cong backs NIB,says will expedite projects

Dismisses Natarajans concern that the board will usurp environment ministrys powers

Notwithstanding Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajans opposition,the Congress has come out in support of the proposed National Investment Board.

If there is anything that expedites the clearance of infrastructure projects,we welcome it because investors should not be made to run around different ministries. To me,creation of NIB is a welcome step, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh told The Indian Express.

Singh dismissed concerns that the NIB would appropriate powers of the environment ministry. It does not take away the ministrys authority. The NIB would only expedite the decision-making process, he said.

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Singhs comments came in the backdrop of the Congress rallying around Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram as they push ahead with the next phase of economic reforms. Buffeted by a series of alleged scams over past few years,the ruling party believes a fresh wave of reforms would win back the urban middle class,which was instrumental in returning the UPA to power in 2009.

And according to the finance ministrys estimates,if the NIB is able to roll out even two-thirds of the pending infrastructure projects,pegged at around Rs 2.5 lakh crore,in the next year,it would create lakhs of jobs and,the Congressmen believe,generate positive vibes about the UPA regime.

Planning Commission Principal Adviser Pronab Sen,meanwhile,also allayed concerns that the NIB would usurp powers of the environment ministry.

It will not be an appellate body. If a project proponent believes the ministry is delaying granting clearance,it can approach the NIB,which will invoke its charter to assume the relevant powers to look into the case. But it will not say to the environment ministry dont conduct the process of environmental clearances, Sen said.

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In a letter to the prime minister last week,Natarajan had expressed concern that the NIB would wrest powers from her ministry.

The finance ministrys move to set up the NIB is completely unacceptable,she had said,and the board itself unconstitutional.

The National Investment Board,which is proposed to deal with projects worth Rs 1,000 crore or more,is seen as the governments attempt to expedite big-ticket projects stuck in various clearance-related issues.

Sen said conducting ecological assessments for environmental clearances takes time because there is a lack of skilled manpower. If a certain body takes two years to conduct an exercise,well,it is the price we pay, he said.