New Delhi: As many as 224 central infrastructure projects in sectors like road, rail and power were showing a cost overrun of over Rs 2 lakh crore till December end, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. “738 projects (worth Rs 150 crore each) were on the monitor of this ministry as on December 31. The original cost of these 738 projects was Rs 9,77,589.16 crore and their total anticipated completion cost is Rs 11,84,766.43 crore,” statistics minister V.K. Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister said that of these 738 projects, 315 were showing time overrun, 224 projects were showing cost overrun and 76 projects were showing both time and cost overrun with respect to their original project implementation schedule. The minister’s reply revealed that the total cost overrun of 224 projects, which reported higher completion cost is Rs 2,07,177.27 crore. According to KPMG, “projects in the execution and closure phase are affected by non availability of funds, resources and delay in delivery of preceding activities. In addition, multiple changes in the scope and design of projects push project delivery timelines.”
The government through the statistics ministry monitors central infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 crore and above on time and cost overruns.The major steps undertaken to ensure completion of these projects include, rigorous project appraisal and on-line computerised monitoring system for better monitoring, minster said.The government also set up standing committees in the administrative ministries for fixation of responsibility for time and cost overruns and central sector projects coordination committees in states under chief secretaries for removal of bottlenecks and for speedy implementation of major projects. The slowdown in projects will have a ripple effect on the private sector, which gets a major chunk of business from the government contracts.
