94 infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore facing delay,cost overrun: Government

Big infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above are running behind schedule and have cost overrun, Parliament was informed today.

As many as 1,186 such projects were under the monitoring of the ministry at the end of December 2016, Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation D V Sadananda Gowda said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. "Of these 1,186 projects, 94 projects are delayed and showing cost overruns. The reasons for delay are project specific," Gowda said. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation monitors ongoing central sector infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 and above on time and cost overruns.

Law and order, delay in land acquisition, geological conditions, delay in environment and forest clearances, rehabilitation and resettlement, local body permissions, utility shifting, contractual issues are among major reasons behind the delay and cost override, he said. At times these factors also result in non-utilisation of funds fully, the minister said this in a response to a query on number of such projects, cost and time overruns and measures taken to avoid them.

Steps like rigorous project appraisal, setting up of standing committees, computerised monitoring system, fixation of duties, project coordination between states and centre to remove bottlenecks are being taken to make projects speedy, he said.