As per the Flash Report for June 2023 during the reference month, 17 projects were added (10 Road projects, 3 Petroleum projects, 2 Coal projects, and 1 each for Civil Aviation & Fertilisers). Additionally, 54 projects were completed (25 Railway projects, 19 Health projects, 5 Road projects, 3 Petroleum projects, and 2 Power Sector projects). Out of these, 815 projects are delayed from their original schedules, and 157 projects have reported additional delays compared to their completion date in May 2023. Among the 157, 37 are Mega Projects costing 1000 crore and above.
The total original cost of the 1,643 projects was Rs 23,86,687.07 crore, but the anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 28,51,556.84 crore, indicating an overall cost overrun of Rs 4,64,869.77 crore (19.48% of the original cost). As of June 2023, the expenditure incurred on these projects is Rs 14,99,771.71 crore, which is 52.59% of the expected cost.
Below are the sector-wise lists of projects with the highest percentage of cost overruns and the highest cost overruns.
Out of the 1,643 projects, 16 projects are ahead of schedule, 476 are on schedule, 815 are delayed, 393 projects reported cost overrun, and 271 projects reported both time and cost overrun with respect to their original project implementation schedules. However, the number of delayed projects decreases to 594 if the delay is calculated based on the latest schedule of completion. Additionally, for 336 projects, neither the year of commissioning nor the tentative gestation period has been reported.
Out of the 815 delayed projects, 193 (24%) projects have an overall delay of 1 to 12 months, 192 (23%) projects have a delay of 13 to 24 months, 293 (36%) projects have a delay of 25 to 60 months, and 137 (17%) projects have a delay of more than 60 months. The average time overrun in these 815 delayed projects is 37.49 months.
The reasons for time overruns as reported by various project implementing agencies include delay in land acquisition, obtaining forest/environment clearances, lack of infrastructure support & linkages, tie-up of project financing, finalization of detailed engineering, changes in scope, tendering, equipment supply, law & order problems, geological surprises, pre-commissioning teething troubles, contractual issues, inadequate manpower, delay in technical approval, encroachment, state-wise lockdown due to COVID-19, and litigation (NGT).
The Online Computerized Monitoring System (OCMS) of this Ministry monitors milestones of various infrastructure projects. However, not all project agencies are reporting/providing the list of milestones.
It has been observed that project agencies are not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for many projects, suggesting that time/cost overrun figures may be underreported.
The Flash Report is issued by the Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The report carries information on the status of the 1,643 Central Sector Infrastructure Projects costing 150 crore and above.
