The government is working out a mechanism to share data with industry and potential investors about multi-modal connectivity as well as other physical and social infrastructure captured on the PM Gati Shakti platform, a top official said on July 7.
The Network Planning Group (NPG) under the platform which has multiple layers of geospatial data from across the country, has so far managed to evaluate and facilitate 85 large central infrastructure projects worth nearly ₹5.4 lakh crore so far, said Sumita Dawra, Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
At the NPG’s 51st meeting chaired by DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Friday, the group evaluated five national highway projects worth ₹15,600 crore, which included two highways in Maharashtra, a ring road around Kanpur, and a tunnel project in Mizoram to help commuters and goods bypass the capital city of Aizawl.
A clutch of projects worth ₹719 crore, which are essentially disaster risk mitigation measures for Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region, were also taken up. These include 20 road stretches prone to landslides and 11 sinking zones.
Responding to a query from The Hindu on when the Gati Shakti portal may be opened up for investors and other stakeholders outside government, Ms. Dawra said the issue was discussed and ministries are working together to reach a consensus on the modalities.
“Geospatial data sharing has to be compatible with the Science Ministry’s policy, while the Ministry of Electronics and IT has been asked to examine issues relating to data protection and privacy. All ministries are working out what data can be shared,” she said, without indicating a time frame for implementation.
Noting that the use of Gati Shakti data has evolved since its launch, Ms. Dawra said road and rail project reports are now prepared much faster than before. “A detailed national highway project report used to take at least six months, which is now down to 15 days. Railways Ministry readied 400-odd project reports last year as opposed to 55 the year before,” she pointed out.
