TOI : Delays in big govt projects bleed nation : Oct 29,2007
Delays in big govt projects bleed nation
297 Of 866 Schemes Way Behind Schedule, Costs Up By 24,000Cr
Subodh Varma TIMES INSIGHT GROUP
New Delhi: An airport in Silchar (Assam), a bridge in Orissa, a port in Gujarat, a highway in Karnatakawhat do these central government projects have in common? Its a dubious distinction they all share. All of them are government projects and all of them are running well behind schedule.
And these are not isolated cases. Out of a total of 866 projects, each costing more than Rs 20 crore or more, 297 projectsspawned by over 13 ministriesare running badly behind schedule. More than Rs 24,000 crore will be spent additionally because of the delayan amount sufficient for many more mega projects.
This dismal picture emerges from a quarterly report put out by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation which tracks the progress of big projects. According to the report, the total estimated cost of all 866 projects was over Rs 3,24,473 crore. Now, it has ballooned to about Rs 3,75,888 crore. The total expenditure till December 2006 has been about Rs 1,38,905 crore, that is, about 37% of the anticipated cost. Delays up to over 16 years have been reported in some extreme cases.
The projects being tracked include 63 mega projects (each costing Rs 1,000 crore or more), 426 major projects (each costing between Rs 100 crore and Rs 1,000 crore) and 377 medium projects (each costing between Rs 20 crore and Rs 100 crore). Major and mega projects account for nearly 95% of the total anticipated cost of all projects. These include several high-profile projects like the Golden Quadrilateral, the Godavari delta oil/gas extraction, and hydroelectric stations like Tehri, Kameng and Chamera.
Some of the ministries reporting a large number of delays are road transport (93), telecommunication (36), power (27), petroleum and coal (25 each), and shipping (22). Civil aviation has 12 delayed projects, while steel and urban development have 11 such projects each. Railways has also reported 32 delayed projects, but 178 of its projects have no specified date of completion. In all, there are 218 projects which have no specified target date for completion.
SLOWLY KE PEECHE 63 Mega Projects (>1000Cr)
426 Big Projects (>100Cr)
Total Estimated Cost
3,75,888cr
Expenditure Till Dec 2006
1,38,905cr
Time Over-Run
1-196
months Govt tries to cover up delays
New Delhi: Delays in completion of projects are bleeding the country dry. In as many as 225 of the total 866 central projects, the current expenditure has already crossed the total anticipated cost. This will require a fresh approval by the cabinet committee on economic affairs.
The ministries concerned say that a slew of factors is responsible for the delays. These include fund constraints, difficulty in land acquisition, environmental clearance problems and delay in supplies. However, in nearly 55% of the projects, the ministry concerned merely said that the delay was because of slow progress due to reasons other than civil works. In many cases, this is a cover-all phrase for lacunae in tendering, delay by corrupt contractors, bureaucratic imbroglios and faulty planning. In some cases, technological problems or litigation were also reported as delaying factors.
A quick look at the proceedings of the parliamentary standing committees for each ministry shows that the ministries get roundly criticised, but the same problems are reported year after year.
In order to check the enormous loss to public exchequer, several measures have been proposed. These include changes in land acquisition procedures and regulations;
evolving a standard policy for resettlement and rehabilitation of people displaced by projects; standardisation of contractual agreements to be used for awarding local contracts. Even as the government works out these modalities the clock is ticking for the already much delayed projects.
Publication:Times of India Mumbai; Date:Oct 29, 2007; Section:Front Page; Page Number:1
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