The government finished work on 281 central government projects costing over Rs 150 crore in FY24, compared with 329 in the previous year. However, this was the second-highest completion rate in nearly a decade, according to a government data release.
The proportion of delayed projects rose to 41.6% in March compared with 41.2% in the previous month.
The ratio of cost overruns also rose to a three-month high of 18.65% compared with 18.19% in the previous month, as the anticipated cost of 1,873 projects at Rs 31.9 lakh crore was Rs 5 lakh crore higher than the original cost.
Of the 779 projects delayed by the end of March, 51% were delayed for over two years, with an average time of 36.04 months or nearly three years.
Three projects (two of road and one of telecom) were added, and 32 projects (seven of roads, 23 projects in petroleum and two in power sector) were completed in March, according to the government release.
“It has also been observed that project agencies are not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for many projects, which suggests that time/cost overrun figures may be underreported,” the release stated.
A sectoral division shows that Railways and water resources had the highest cost overruns, with the anticipated costs of all projects monitored by the ministry exceeding the original cost by 54% and 197%, respectively.
Of the 249 projects monitored by the portal under Railways, over half or 149, were facing cost overruns, while the ratio was 9 out of 41 for water resources. Nearly a fifth of projects in roads, which accounts for the highest number of undergoing projects, were facing cost overruns.
Regarding time overruns, 109 of 249 railway projects faced time overruns, whereas nearly 40% of road projects were delayed.
