The October 2023 Flash Report released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation provides a detailed overview of the progress of 1,788 major infrastructure projects in India, each valued at over 150 crore. The key points covered in the report are:
Project Additions and Completions: In October, 60 new projects were initiated, including 45 in roads, 5 each in power and petroleum, 3 in coal, and one each in civil aviation and steel. In the same period, 29 projects were completed, predominantly in roads and railways, with one each in higher education and petroleum.
Delays and Overruns: Of the total projects, 837 are behind schedule. Notably, 149 of these projects reported further delays compared to the previous month. Among these, 39 are large-scale projects costing over Rs 1,000 crore each.
Cost Analysis: The initial combined cost of these projects was around Rs 24.78 lakh crore, which has escalated to an anticipated Rs 29.09 lakh crore, indicating a 17.39 percent cost overrun. As of October 2023, about 52.49 percent of this revised cost has been spent.
Project Status: Out of all projects, 50 are ahead of schedule, 611 are on track, 837 are delayed, 411 have cost overruns, and 259 are experiencing both time and cost overruns. However, if the latest schedules are considered, the number of delayed projects drops to 628.
Extent of Delays: Among the delayed projects, 202 (24 percent) are behind by 1-12 months, 188 (22 percent) by 13-24 months, 324 (39 percent) by 25-60 months, and 123 (15 percent) are delayed by over 60 months. The average delay across these projects is approximately 37 months.
Reasons for Delays: Various factors contribute to these delays, including land acquisition issues, environmental clearance delays, lack of infrastructure, project financing delays, engineering and tendering processes, equipment supply issues, law and order challenges, unforeseen geological conditions, pre-commissioning issues, contractual problems, manpower shortages, technical approvals, encroachments, COVID-19 related lockdowns, and litigation.
This report emphasis close monitoring of infrastructure projects, so that the time and cost overruns are limited.
