PURA

Ministry of Rural Development (GOI) with the support of Maharashtra & Karnataka Governments organized PURA Road Shows on the 17th& 18th of July in Mumbai & Bengaluru respectively. The objective of these road shows was to spread awareness about PURA and to elicit more responses from Private Developers to participate in the bidding process for the second batch of PURA projects.

 

Given the success of first batch of PURApilot projects, MoRD has received a sanction from Planning Commission, Government of India, to initiate the procurement process for 10 to 15 additional PURA pilot projects. Procurement process for the second batch of these projects is currently underway. The notice for Expression of Interest (EOI) was issued in the last week of May 2012. 

Joint SecretaryPURA Mr.Rajesh Bhushan told all present that PURA was not a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) project but has been designed to make complete financial sense to the Private Developer. He assured all the Private Developers present that PURA is a viable business proposition. At this meeting were present two private developers who have been part of the first batch of PURA projects. Mr Padmadasan of INKEL (Infrastructure Kerala Limited) &Mr. Reddy of MEIL (Megha Engineering Infrastructure Limited) spoke about the immense support they had received from Ministry of Rural Development & all other related ministries. They encouraged private developers to come forward and participate in the bidding process. 

Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) had organized these events. While former Chairperson of HUDCO Mr. Suresh hosted the event in Mumbai, Aroon RamanChairperson CII Karnataka State Council moderated the event in Bengaluru. 

Addressing these gatherings, JS PURA spoke about how selection of PURA Gram Panchayats reflected the concurrence of all stakeholders. Private Developers have been given flexibility to select the Gram Panchayat for undertaking PURA projects based on their familiarity with the area or past experience of working at the grassroots level. But consent of the concerned Panchayats and no objection from the State Governments is also mandatory. 

Few of the Private Developers present expressed their keenness to bid for PURA projects but inability do so as they did not have the minimum net worth required. Many of these developers had expertise in specific areas like sanitation, roads or solid waste disposal. Rakesh Bangera from CRISIL (Transaction Advisors for PURA) assured these entrepreneurs that they could participate in the bidding process if they found suitable lead partners and formed a consortium. In a bid to create a meeting point for these Private Developers Joint Secretary PURA said that MoRD could consider enlisting names of companies looking for consortium partners on the PURA website. 

Representing the State Government at these events was Pradeep Sandhu, Principal Secretary Rural Development & Malini Shankar Principal Secretary Water Resources in Maharashtra. While in Karnataka Sanjeev Kumar Secretary Rural Development & Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary Panchayati Raj participated in the event.

Taking into consideration requests from Private Developers both in Maharashtra & Karnataka, last date for submission of EOI’s has now been extended to 6th August 2012.