Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Executive Director, India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL), on Tuesday said there should reforms in policies for infrastructure projects.

According to Bhanwala, a private bidder has to obtain as many as 30 clearances before participating in an infrastructure project under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) including land and environment-related approvals. This has been hindering the speedy completion of projects.

“If they (private bidders) have to get those many clearances, it would be difficult for them to stick to completion schedule of the projects,” he said.

He said this here while addressing a seminar on infrastructure development — Infra East — organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

Bhanwala pointed out that the NHAI projects has been witnessing “very few” bids from the private sector.

Meanwhile, he said, there is a need for creating awareness regarding tax-free bonds to facilitate growth in the infrastructure sector. So far, tax-saving bonds have been popular among investors.

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