According to a recent report, as many as 448 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or above, were hit by a cost overrun of more than Rs 5.55 trillion during December quarter 2023.

The Quarterly Project Implementation Status Report (QPISR) on Central Sector Projects highlighted that out of 1,897 projects, 448 projects had cost overrun of Rs 5,55,352.41 crore, which is 65.2 per cent of their sanctioned cost.

The report discussed the Central Sector Projects costing Rs 150 crore and above for the third quarter of 2023-24 containing detailed information on 1,897 projects.

Prepared by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the QPISR stated that about the latest approved cost, 292 projects had reported a cost overrun of Rs 2,89,699.46 crore.

Out of 1,897 projects, 56 projects were ahead of schedule, 632 projects were on schedule, and 902 projects were delayed concerning the original schedule of completion.

Further, 276 projects are having both time and cost overruns. It stated that for 307 projects, either the original or the anticipated date of completion was not reported or had lapsed. The anticipated completion cost of these 1,897 projects is Rs 31,74,489.91 crore.

The total expenditure as of December 31, 2023, was Rs 16,89,400.92 crore which works out to 53.22 per cent of the total anticipated completion cost and 63.9 per cent of the original cost. For these 1,897 projects, a total outlay of Rs 3,70,983.54 crore has been allocated for 2023-24, it stated.

Also, the report highlighted that the percentage of delayed projects changed from 56.70 per cent in the quarter that ended December 2022 to 47.55 per cent in the third quarter of FY24. The percentage of cost overrun reduced from 21.42 per cent to 20.1 per cent.

As reported by various project implementing agencies, the reasons for time overrun include delays in land acquisition, obtaining forest and environment clearances, and law and order problems.

The report also cited state-wise lockdowns due to COVID-19 as a reason for the delay in the implementation of these projects.

Earlier in November, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said in a report that as many as 421 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, were hit by cost overrun of more than Rs 4.40 trillion.