PM's infrastructure development plan a non-starter: BJP

New Delhi: Claiming that the infrastructure development plan set out at a meeting convened by the Prime Minister will prove to be a "non-starter", BJP on Friday said the government has no resource mobilisation plan for the one trillion dollars needed for implementing these schemes.

"The much-hyped meeting for the infrastructure boost will prove a non-starter.... The Prime Minister stressed that one trillion dollars are required to be invested in the Indian infrastructure in near future... The relevant question for the Prime Minister is what is the resource mobilisation plan?" BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

The Opposition pointed out that the Finance Minister was not present in the meeting which discussed multi-billion dollar projects and wondered how this could be done.

The Opposition pointed out that the Finance Minister was not present in the meeting which discussed multi-billion dollar projects.

"In a bizarre explanation it was stated that his presence was not necessary," Javadekar said. He further maintained that though several pending railway projects were discussed even Railway Minister Mukul Roy, who is a TMC MP, was not present.

BJP was quick to term this as indicator of the "fragile nature of this coalition government and complete absence of the Prime Minister's authority".

"Lack of political will, policy paralysis, policy flip-flops, indecision, contradictions within the Cabinet, contradictions between the ruling party and the government, coupled with the coalition contradictions are ruining any prospect of semblance of governance," Javadekar said.

"The hallmark of UPA regime is that it has converted low inflation-high growth economy inherited from the NDA into a high inflation, low growth economy," he added.

Charging that inflation and corruption have gone up during the UPA rule, BJP said growth rates and value of the Rupee have gone down.

The Opposition also maintained that government had initially made claims that the Eurozone crisis and rising crude prices "hold no validity" in India.

"India was tom-toming that the Indian economy is insulated and the crude prices are actually going down which are hovering around $90 per barrel," Javadekar said.

The BJP insisted that bad growth mix, higher deficit and interest rates, declining savings and private investments, unproductive spending, slowdown in decision and approvals, delay in reforms are the reasons for the present Indian

economic slow down.

Javadekar said while the UPA had claimed it will build 22 km of highways everyday, in reality it is not building even 5 km per day. The NHAI has no chairman for the past two years. Similarly, though the government promised it will generate 18,000 MW power, there are inadequate coal linkages and many hydro projects are awaiting approval.

"The 12th plan target is less than the 11th Plan," he said.

The opposition alleged that while government has announced it will build two ports in record time of one year, the track record is that infrastructure in the port sector is not being utilised and funds lapse.

The rail projects are similarly stalled, he alleged. "This is the fact sheet of sluggish infrastructure growth. No big decision was taken in the said meeting and so there is no hope of progress on the charted course," Javadekar said.

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