DPIIT holds review meeting for wider adoption of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan in States/UTs

To promote wider adoption of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry conducts weekly review meetings with States and Union Territories to monitor and extend support for efficient and effective utilization of their State Master plan (SMP) portals for infrastructure planning and implementation.

A review meeting was convened for the Western and Central Zones States/UTs of India, chaired by Special Secretary (Logistics), DPIIT, Ms. Sumita Dawra at New Delhi on August 31, 2023. The meeting witnessed active participation from States/UTs i.e. Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Daman & Diu and Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

During the meeting, Special Secretary (Logistics) stressed upon the importance of utilising the GatiShakti NMP/SMP portal and adopting 'whole of government' approach for infrastructure and social sector planning.

The chair mentioned various benefits of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) by leveraging data layers and tools for effective, data-driven decision making, that includes:

(i) Optimized Route Planning

(ii) Enhanced visibility of intersections from forest, economic zones, archaeological sites etc.

(iii) Enabling time and cost saving for planning and implementation of infrastructure projects, such as, use of digital surveys on NMP to streamline the preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) with higher accuracy.

She also mentioned that the States/UTs are extensively using the PM GatiShakti approach for planning connectivity to Industrial Regions; for selecting the location of social infrastructure assets, such as anganwadis, schools, hospitals, etc.

States/UTs are integrating their existing development programmes/schemes with the GIS-based NMP/SMP to achieve better planning. For instance, the State of UP, integrated its Pahunch portal with the SMP, for effective decision-making about site suitability of new schools, based on various parameters like population, connectivity, teacher-pupil ratio, etc. Similarly, the Gujarat Government used the PMGS for planning its coastal corridor to promote tourism. State of Goa planned the disaster management/ evacuation route during floods to minimize loss of life, using the PMGS NMP/SMP portals.

It was further emphasised that the States/UTs must look after the following parameters for wider adoption of PM GatiShakti NMP:

(i) regular meeting/workings of institutional mechanism at States/UTs level;

(ii) ensure quality of data layers on NMP/SMP portal;

(iii) usage of SMP for project planning and implementation to facilitate Ease of Logistics, Ease of Living, and Ease of Doing Business; and

The States/UTs are being encouraged to formulate State Logistics Policy (SLPs) aligned with National logistics policy (NLP) to bring holistic focus on ‘logistics’ in public policy at State level. So far, 22 States have notified their State Logistics policies.

The States/UTs were sensitized about the advantages of utilizing PM GatiShakti NMP/SMP at the district level for planning purposes. To enable area-based development, it is essential to adopt PM GatiShakti principles for gap identification, project planning, etc. at grass root level. This is where the involvement of district-level officers becomes crucial in implementing the area-based approach for social and economic planning within their districts.

The approach can streamline several challenges, such as land acquisition, approvals, utility shifting coordination, administrative assistance, and more, expediting and ensuring time-bound project implementation. States/UTs were recommended to identify pilot areas for implementation of planning and analysis through the PM GatiShakti NMP/SMP.