“The total initial cost of implementing the 1526 projects was Rs 21,26,460.93 crore and their expected cost of completion is likely to be Rs 25,91,823.45 crore, reflecting overall cost overruns of Rs 4 ,65,362.52crore (21.88% of original cost),,” the ministry’s latest report for August 2022 states.
According to the report, the expenditure incurred for these projects till August 2022 was Rs 13,60,645.94 Crore which is 52.49% of the projected cost of the projects.
However, the number of delayed projects decreases to 500 if the delay is calculated based on the latest completion schedule.
Furthermore, it showed that for 607 projects, neither the commissioning year nor the tentative gestation period was reported.
Of the 647 projects delayed, 132 have overall delays in the range of 1-12 months, 118 were delayed 13-24 months, 273 projects 25-60 months, and 124 projects were delayed 61 months or more.
The average overrun of these 647 delayed projects is 41.64 months.
Reasons for time overruns reported by various project implementing agencies include delay in land acquisition, delay in obtaining forestry and environmental permits, and lack of infrastructural support and linkages.
Delay in project financing, finalization of detailed engineering, change of scope, tenders, orders and supply of equipment, and public order issues are among the other reasons.
The report also cited state-level lockdowns due to COVID-19 as the reason for the delay in the implementation of these projects.
It was also observed that project agencies are not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for many projects, suggesting that time/cost overrun figures are under-reported. -he declares.
