New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the establishment of the Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), a special purpose vehicle that will oversee integrated planning, research, project appraisal and monitoring in the transportation and logistics sectors.
The move is aimed at addressing long-standing challenges arising from fragmented planning and implementation across multiple transport ministries and agencies.
“The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), namely, Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA) to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transportation and Logistics,” an official statement said.
The government believes that improved coordination and multimodal integration will enhance the efficiency, sustainability and effectiveness of infrastructure development across the country.
ITLA will function as the national apex institution for transport and logistics planning. It will provide policy support, undertake research, carry out project appraisals, monitor implementation and use data analytics to support decision-making in the sector.
A key responsibility of the authority will be the preparation of a comprehensive National Transport Master Plan with a planning horizon of ten years or more.
The plan will cover major modes of transportation, including roads, railways, ports and shipping, civil aviation, inland waterways, coastal shipping, urban mobility and logistics.
The authority will also review short-term sectoral plans and annual plans prepared by various transport ministries to ensure that they are aligned with the long-term national strategy. This is expected to encourage the development of integrated and multimodal transport infrastructure across the country.
As part of its mandate, ITLA will undertake technical appraisals of central government transport and infrastructure projects with an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore or more. Financial evaluations of such projects will continue to be conducted through the existing appraisal mechanisms.
The authority will further monitor the implementation of infrastructure projects above the Rs 500-crore threshold and provide a coordinated platform for resolving issues that arise during execution. It will also conduct post-implementation impact assessments to evaluate project outcomes and effectiveness.
(IANS)
