Delhi’s development priorities interconnected, can’t be planned in isolation: LG

Delhi’s development priorities, including urban infrastructure, public transport, healthcare, education, water management, energy and digital governance, are interconnected and cannot be planned or delivered in isolation, LG Taranjit Singh Sandhu said on Tuesday.

Sandhu underlined that while public-private partnerships (PPUs) have a role in making progress towards the vision of a “Viksit Delhi” by 2047, it is not the answer for every project.

Addressing a capacity-building programme on “Leveraging Public-Private Partnership: Policy, Benchmarks, Partnership Frameworks and Outcomes” at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), Dwarka, he said the first principle is to determine whether a PPP is the appropriate model for a particular project.

The decision must be based on the nature of the service, the capacity of the public authority, the potential for private participation, the distribution of risks and the outcomes expected by citizens.

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A PPP, he emphasised, is not simply an alternative source of financing; it is a framework that combines public purpose with private-sector capabilities, while clearly defining responsibilities, risks, performance standards and accountability.

He asked government officers to assess projects across their complete lifecycle and public outcomes and not only through departmental responsibilities.

A project may be technically feasible but financially unsustainable, may attract private investment but fail to deliver affordable services, or may be completed on schedule but run into difficulties during operation because maintenance arrangements were inadequately designed, he added.