Reasons for overruns reported by various project implementing agencies include delays in land acquisition, delays in obtaining forest and environment clearances, and lack of infrastructure support and linkages.
According to a report, 438 infrastructure projects, each costing ₹150 crore or more, have a total cost of over ₹4.34 lakh crore.
The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation oversees infrastructure projects worth ₹150 crore and above. Out of 1,680 such projects, 438 reported cost overruns and 539 were delayed.
“The total original cost of implementation of 1,680 projects was ₹21,74,182.86 crore and their estimated completion cost is likely to be ₹26,08,330.02 crore, showing a total cost escalation of ₹4,34,147.16 crore (19.97%) of the original cost The ministry’s latest October 2021 report said.
As per the report, ₹12,64,545.31 crore has been spent on these projects till October 2021, which is 48.48% of the estimated cost of the projects. However, the report said that the number of delayed projects comes down to 377 if the delay is calculated based on the latest schedule.
In addition, neither the year of commissioning nor the expected construction period has been reported for 837 projects.
Out of 539 delayed projects, 98 have delays of 1-12 months, 109 13-24 months, 211 25-60 months and 121 projects 61 months and above.
The average time taken for these 539 delayed projects is 47.16 months.
Reasons for overruns reported by various project implementing agencies include delays in land acquisition, delays in obtaining forest and environment clearances, and lack of infrastructure support and linkages.
Delays in tie-up for project funding, delays in finalizing detailed engineering, changes in scope, delays in tendering, delays in placing orders and equipment supplies, and law and order problems are among other reasons.
The report also cited the state-wise lockdown due to COVID-19 as the reason for the delay in implementation of these projects. It has also been observed that project agencies are not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for many projects, which shows that the time/cost escalation figures are under-reported.
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