356 infra projects show cost overrun of Rs 2.19L cr: Govt

| | New Delhi

Factoring delays and some other reasons, as many as 356 infrastructure projects in the country, each worth Rs 150 crore or above, have shown cost overrun of Rs 2.19 lakh crore, according to a report released by the Government.

Generally, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MSPI) monitors all infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above. As per the report, about 356 out of total 1,304 projects reported cost overrun, which is 258 times escalation. “Total original cost of implementation of 1,304 projects was Rs 16.21 lakh crore and their anticipated completion cost is Rs 18.41 lakh crore, which reflects overall cost overrun of Rs 2.19 lakh crore which means 13.56 per cent of original cost,” said the Ministry's latest report for January 2018.

The report further said, the expenditure incurred on these projects till January 2018 is Rs 6.61 lakh crore, which is 35.92 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects. “Of the 1,304 projects, 6 have reported completion and 9 new projects have been initiated during January. While 15 projects are ahead of schedule, 305 are on schedule, 258 are delayed, 356 projects are showing cost overrun and 94 projects are showing both time and cost  overrun with respect to original implementation schedules,” the report added.

However, it also said the number of delayed projects decreases to 223 if delay is calculated with reference to latest revised schedules of completion. “For 726 projects, where original/anticipated commissioning date has not been reported, all concerned have been requested to provide the original/anticipated commissioning date so that these projects can be monitored for completion vis-a-vis the targeted dates,” it added.

Of the 258 delayed projects, 51 have overall delay in the range of 1-12 months, 56 projects (13-24 months), 83 projects (25-60 months) and 68 projects (61 months and above).

The report attributes the time overrun to a host of issues, including delay in land acquisition, forest clearance, equipment supply, fund constraint, Maoist incursion, legal cases and law and order situation.