Modalities of a Public Private Partnership in Implementation of Delhis Mass Rapid Transit System

Abstract

Public agencies inadequacy in provision of infrastructure support for urban development hardly needs any reiteration, nor does the fact that infrastructure provision, particularly in the context of a city with per-capita income as that of Delhi, would remain (and should remain) largely a public service. This dichotomy essentially then points to a partnership option where the public bodies look for a partner in the non government sector for supplementing its resources. For making the partnership happen there are two basic questions that need to be answered 1. Why the partnership or what would bring the private sector and the public sector together ? The answer could be found if we were to see the service unbundled. It is seen that the main tasks involved in providing the MRTS are preparation of Technical Design, Construction of the facilities and Operating & Maintaining the facilities. Of these it is only the construction that requires private sector inputs, the others can be managed by the Delhi Merto Rail Corporation. The approach needed would essentially have to be one which is able to identify a common goal or, in other words, bring in a common vision so that all sides "own" the project. This goal convergence could be the integration of transport with land development. DDA and private sector developers/builders could be involved in the process of real estate development, to overcome the government's inability to mobilise public sector funds for the project. 2. How the partnership? For construction of MRTS facilities and property development, a joint development approach through a "Special Project Vehicle" (SPV) is proposed. The partners in the joint venture would be under a legal contract. The advantage of this organisational structure would be commitment of resources by all sides and allocation of risks to those partners who are in better position to handle them . The Plan Development Process discussed here suggests a new approach to planning itself. Working in a Public-Private-Partnership or PPP, means a new kind relationship between the private and public agencies which is quite at variance with their more traditional manner of dealing with each other. The new concept demands from the partners, a number of adjustments in the manner in which they operate, so that a comfortable and meaningful association can be established. For the union & Delhi governments and DDA, this would mean a major change in skills and knowledge needed, but before that, and more important than that, a change in attitude. Liberalisation and private sector participation can not take place in institutional vacuum. Organisations, laws, rules and regulations are necessary to be modified for the public agencies to respond effectively to their changed role from that of direct provision to that of management; to avoid misuse and for the public agencies to be able to monitor the results afterwards.