PM to launch GatiShakti-National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity to boost infra development

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch PM GatiShakti-National Master Plan, which seeks to address the issue of a lack of coordination among various agencies by institutionalizing holistic planning, on Wednesday for multi-modal connectivity.

Describing it as a historic event for the country’s infrastructure landscape, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday said the GatiShakti project will break departmental silos and institutionalize holistic planning for the stakeholders across major infrastructure projects.

All departments will have visibility of each other’s projects through a centralized portal and the multi-modal connectivity will provide integrated and seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services, it said. GatiShakti is based on the six pillars of comprehensiveness, prioritization, optimisation, synchronisation and being analytical and dynamic, the PMO added.

It will generate large-scale employment opportunities, cut down logistics costs, improve supply chains and make local goods competitive globally, it said.

Noting that infrastructure creation suffered in the country for decades from multiple issues, including a lack of coordination between different departments, the PMO cited the example of newly-constructed roads being dug up by other agencies for activities like laying of underground cables, gas pipelines etc.

”This not only caused great inconvenience but was also a wasteful expenditure,” it said, adding that measures have been put in place to improve coordination.

Steps have also been taken to address other issues such as a time-taking approval process and multiplicity of regulatory clearances etc., it said, asserting that in the last seven years, the government has ensured unprecedented focus on infrastructure through a holistic outlook.

Instead of planning and designing separately in silos, the projects will now be designed and executed with a common vision and will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala and inland waterways.

Economic zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters and agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity and make Indian businesses more competitive, the PMO said.

GatiShakti is the result of Modi’s constant endeavour to build next-generation infrastructure, which improves ease of living as well as ease of doing business, it added.

The multi-modal connectivity will provide integrated and seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another. It will facilitate the last-mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time for people.

It will provide the public and the business community information regarding upcoming connectivity projects, other business hubs, industrial areas and the surrounding environment and also enable the investors to plan their businesses at suitable locations, leading to enhanced synergies.

The prime minister will also inaugurate the new exhibition complex (Exhibition Halls 2 to 5) at Pragati Maidan during the event. The India International Trade Fair (IITF), the flagship event of the India Trade Promotion Organisation, will be held in these new exhibition halls from November 14 to 27, it noted. (PTI)