The road transport and highways sector has the maximum number of delayed projects in India, with 407 out of 717 projects running behind schedule. The railways and petroleum industries follow with 114 and 86 delayed projects, respectively. The report, released by the Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division (IPMD) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, monitors central sector infrastructure projects costing ₹ 150 crore and above based on information provided on the Online Computerised Monitoring System (OCMS) by project implementing agencies. The report revealed that as many as 823 projects are delayed, 346 projects have cost overruns, and 242 projects have both time and cost overruns with respect to their original project implementation schedules. According to the government report mentioned in the news article, the railways sector has a cost overrun of 68.1 percent with a total original cost of implementation of ₹ 37,2761.45 crore, while the expenditure incurred till February 2023 is ₹ 3,79,380.95 crore, which is 60.5 percent of the anticipated cost of the projects. It is interesting to note that while there has been a significant cost overrun in the implementation of projects in the road and railway sectors, the cost overrun in the petroleum sector has been relatively low at 4.8%. However, it is important to keep in mind that cost overruns in any sector can have significant financial implications and can impact the timely completion of projects.
It would be helpful to analyze the reasons for the cost overruns in these sectors and identify measures to prevent them in the future. It is also important to ensure that adequate funds are allocated for the completion of these projects and that there is proper monitoring and accountability in place to prevent any mismanagement of funds.