Centre set to focus on 51 worse-hit infra projects

New Delhi: The central government has decided to focus on the infrastructure projects worst affected by time and cost overruns. It has identified 51 such projects based on the criteria of cost overrun of 50 per cent more and time overrun of 50 months and more.

The 51 worst-hit projects are required to be taken up for special monitoring by the respective administrative ministries, official sources told Bizz Buzz.

These projects contribute nearly 37.35 per cent of the total cost overrun and 19.92 per cent of the total time overrun of 1,873 projects worth Rs150 crore and more, the sources said. As in March, the original cost of these projects was Rs2,687,535.69 crore, but now it has surged to Rs3,188,859.02 crore. The total cost escalation is slightly over Rs5 lakh crore.

Out of the total 1,873 projects, 55 ahead of schedule, 646 are on schedule, and 779 are delayed. As many as 449 projects have cost overruns. Further, there is inadequate information about the commissioning schedule of 393 projects.

So far, the government has taken several steps to reduce the delays and cost overruns in the projects. These include rigorous project appraisal, online computerised monitoring system or OCMS for better monitoring, setting up of revised cost committees in the line ministries for fixation of responsibility for time and cost overruns, and regular review of the infrastructure projects by the ministries.

The central government also set up of Central Sector Projects Coordination Committees (CSPCCs) in States under Chief Secretaries for the removal of bottlenecks and for facilitating the speedy implementation of major projects.

The objectives of project monitoring are to enhance effectiveness of project implementation, facilitate information flow for effective decision making, resolve outstanding implementation issues, bring about system improvement, and promote best management practices. The projects are monitored on sectoral and geo-physical bases.