2024-01-23 11:47:02
The rise in cost overruns was also accompanied by a rise in the number of delayed projects. The ratio of delayed projects rose to 46.6% in December compared with 46.1% in the previous month. Of the 848 projects delayed in December, another 198 reported additional delays.
A fourth of these projects belonged to the megaproject category, which pertains to those with a cost of Rs 1000 crore and above. The average time overrun for the delayed projects was 36.59 months.
The report also pointed out that the extent of cost overruns may be even higher as many ministries had not submitted revised estimates.
“It has also been observed that project agencies are not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for many projects, which suggests that time/cost overrun figures may be under-reported,” the ministry reiterated.
A total of 298 projects of 1,820 available on the government’s Online Computerised Monitoring System (OCMS) portal had no date of commissioning or tentative gestation period. Railways was the worst performer as regards cost overruns. Of the 250 projects reported under the portal, 138 faced cost overruns in December. The average cost overrun in Railways was 50%, with water resources being the only other infrastructure category with higher cost overruns. For the 41 projects categorised under water resources, the anticipated cost of Rs 69,700 crore was 197% higher than the original cost of Rs 23,466 crore. Nearly half of the projects in the power sector faced time overruns, whereas the corresponding ratio for railways was 40%. Nearly a third of road and highway projects also faced time overruns.
The government lists delays in land acquisition, environmental clearances, lack of infrastructure support & linkages, and tie-ups for project financing as significant reasons for delays.
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