Speaking at a national workshop on 'Capacity Building for Promoting Public Private Partnerships in Urban Infrastructure' he said that Public Private Partnerships have become potential strategies to promote urban infrastructure investments, which lead to efficiency in service delivery and inclusive growth.

Highlighting the immense pressure which the Indian urban infrastructure is facing, he said there are many gaps with respect to water supply, sanitation, waste management, public transport, housing and facilities for urban poor. He said that while the 11th Plan estimates Rs.1,29,000 crores will be required to take care of water supply, solid waste management and sanitation, a resource gap of nearly 89,237 crores will still be needed to meet urban infrastructure needs.

Giving the present taxation structure the urban local bodies will not be able to raise the money required for various projects. Hence, PPPs are the only option to raise resources and provide efficient management, the Minister said.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), led by the M/o Urban Development, Government of India, provides the framework and incentives for urban local governments to promote PPP. Yet, structuring and implementation of PPP projects in critical sectors such as urban transportation, solid waste management, water and sanitation etc, continue to be a challenge.

He said a robust legal framework delineating balanced sharing of risks should be in place so that the private company is not at the mercy of political fluctuations. For the successful implementation of any PPP agreement involvement of local stakeholders and transparency in awarding of contracts are of paramount importance, he noted.

The two-day seminar is jointly organized by Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and India PPP Capacity Building Trust in order to respond to the emerging capacity building and knowledge support requirements of states and urban local governments.

Earlier, Shri Anil Baijal, Sr. Advisor, IDFC and Chairperson, ICAP, Dr. M. Ramachandran, Secretary, M/o Urban Development also spoke. Many mayors, commissioners and senior government officers are participating in this conference.