India shipping ministry tells planning commission to butt out

India shipping ministry tells planning commission to butt out India's port officials are trying to remove a layer from the country's famous bureaucracy.
   Earlier this week, India's shipping industry requested that the country's planning commission, which oversees all development issues nationwide, not be involved in the approval of port projects at the 12 state-operated port trusts in the country.
   Analysts consider the role of the country's planning commission to be a major stumbling block when it comes to linking transportation nodes. Private ports and terminal developments do not need planning commission approval for construction or expansion.
   'As of now, port projects need to mandatorily take an in-principle approval from the Planning Commission before it can be taken up for approval by the finance ministry,' according to a report in the Economic Times. 'This, the shipping ministry feels, adds to bureaucratic delays and multitier approvals. The waiver of in-principle approval, if allowed, will apply to all projects under the National Maritime Development Program. Attempting to give ports greater autonomy, the shipping ministry is also considering enhancing their financial powers. At present, major port trusts have the freedom to incur planned expenditure for new investment up to ($12.3 million) and up to ($24.6 million) for renewal of assets.'