Thread by @logic

Lets look how #FASTag is well coordinated for a single agenda - sale of public funded highways to global finance and select interests (who may/may not fund electoral bonds).

Also, a side look on how Federalism is being eaten for breakfast by @CMOTamilNadu #Loot #Alert #Thread

If you own a car / transport business, #FASTag would have been the new #Aadhaar for you with incessant messages / deadlines for mandatory #FASTag et al.

There is lot more to #FASTag than just convinience - Read thewire.in/political-econ…

Infrastructure financing, Surveillance etc

The 25 odd years of highway development in India, has seen many different models.

The age old one being - state (Central / State govt) building (and maintaining) highways with its own money from its budget. This is called 'Publicly Funded Highways'

The other model is loosely called PPP - Public Private Partnerships (of which there are multiple kinds like BOOT, BOT, DBOT, HAM) - where roughly the private player puts in capital and has tolling rights for X years and gets back money.

But here is the catch - What about highways for which tolling period ended ?

Usually, the toll period keeps extending either for low collections / re-scoping of project by adding lanes / bridges / simply making using the toll for maintenance.

As of September 2018, there were 163 "Publicly Funded" toll plazas - meaning either the highway was built with public funds / it was transferred back to govt after the contract with private player ended its tenure.

But loot continues!

https://twitter.com/logic/status/1222379875715043328

The government thought because people don't care about tolls, lets monetize by selling profitable highways and use that money to build - less profitable highways which private players won't build. #BharatMala

archive.pib.gov.in/documents/rlin…

So @MORTHIndia created a 'SPV' company - with holdings from various entities in infrastructure financing called @ihmcl_official and this entity was given tolling rights for 163 public funded highways.

How do I know - There is a list of it pdfhost.io/v/5EH8g5Lyk_RF…

Now, lets come to what TN is doing. Remember Roads is in concurrent list and hence TNRDC also develops state highways (so does MHSRDC). So #ECR in Chennai for which the tolling has ended / is ending in next few months is being tolled and billed to TNRDC. #OMR #ChennaiORR too

People are tired of the loot going on that there was a toll plaza violence before COVID.

This government - instead of de-tolling - is only increasing financialization of even projects for which tolling period is over / state funded to raise more debt.

https://twitter.com/logic/status/1222379871227170816

So #TNRDC - does a copy pastes (literally that file name is Copy of Microsoft Word - RFP ETC_Single Acquirer Bank_2018.docx) and does a search replace and releases a tender for tolling in #ECR #OMR #ChennaiORR

pdfhost.io/v/DPf7SUeH2_TN…

Literally Spot 6 differences between the 2 tenders
draftable.com/compare/PClznB… cc @Arappor @JayaramArappor

Why is @CMOTamilNadu on road to sell states' precious assets - #ECR #OMR #ChennaiORR ?

and the beauty is - #EPS laid foundation stone for the private entity (#NPCI) which will house all this data (and monetize them) at SIPCOT

newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-n…

Quid Pro Quo anyone ?

The answer to 'monetise' #TNRDC assets and the pressure to do it - appears from the genesis of TNRDC itself.

TNRDC is a 50:50 venture of TIDCO and #ILFS - Yes that scammy ILFS.

On things that didn't really age well.

From @WorldBank's Ending Poverty in South Asia : Ideas That Work by @deepavop and Glinskaya, Elena in 2007

Tirupur (water and sanitation) and ECR projects of TNRDC / ILFS were showcased as success model.

Cut to 2018, @suchetadalal hitting it out of park - Same Tirupur and TNRDC!!

How IL&FS Was Enriching Itself at Public Cost moneylife.in//article/how-i… via @MoneylifeIndia

Why am I not surprised. It was HDFC that won the bid for ECR, OMR, ORR Projects.

chennai.citizenmatters.in/glitches-in-fa…