NEW DELHI: 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, Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu said on Tuesday.
Sandhu said public-private partnerships (PPPs) have a role in advancing the vision of a “Viksit Delhi” by 2047, but stressed that they are not the answer for every project.
He said the first principle is to determine whether a PPP is the appropriate model for a particular project, as not every public service is suited to the same delivery mechanism.
The decision, he said, 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.
A PPP, Sandhu 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised this approach to infrastructure development under Gati Shakti, from planning through development and utilisation.
The L-G asked government officers to assess projects across their entire lifecycle and evaluate public outcomes rather than focus only on departmental responsibilities.
A project may be technically feasible but financially unsustainable, attract private investment but fail to deliver affordable services, or be completed on schedule but face operational difficulties because maintenance arrangements were inadequately designed. Such concerns, the Lieutenant-Governor said, must be addressed at the planning stage rather than after implementation begins.
Sandhu outlined four principles for effective project delivery. The first is to determine whether a PPP is the appropriate model for a project. The second is sound project preparation, including feasibility assessments, financial and legal due diligence, realistic demand projections, stakeholder consultations and clearly defined performance standards. Risks should be assigned to the party best equipped to manage them, Sandhu said.
The third principle is institutional coordination, with clearly defined roles and time-bound decisions across departments, regulators and local bodies. The fourth is accountability, supported by measurable performance indicators, incentives, penalties, dispute-resolution mechanisms and transparency from procurement to performance evaluation.
Assess projects
A PPP, Sandhu 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, and accountability. The L-G asked government officers to assess projects across their entire lifecycle and evaluate public outcomes.