VIJAYAWADA: A total of 56 projects executed by the Centre in the State have reported a cost overrun of 52.36%, Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The Union Minister was responding to a query by YSR Congress MP V Vijayasai Reddy, seeking details of the number of Central sector infrastructure projects whose cost and time had overrun in Andhra Pradesh.
Among the projects, Polavaram Irrigation Project alone has a cost overrun of Rs 45,397 crore. As per the flash report for February 2023, the 56 Central Sector Infrastructure projects that are under construction in the State were proposed with an original cost of Rs 1.01 lakh crore. However, their cost has now shot up to Rs 1.54 lakh crore.
Based on information provided by the project implementing agencies on the ministry’s Online Computerised Monitoring System (OCMS), 24 projects have reported a time overrun.
Further, the Union minister explained that construction cost for Polavaram project, taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 10,151 crore in 2009, has been revised to Rs 55,548 crore, resulting in a cost overrun of Rs 45,397 crore.
Similarly, Kotipalli-Narsapur railway line, approved in 2001, was estimated to cost Rs 1,045 crore, but it has been now estimated to cost Rs 1,495 crore.
Project delayed due to fund constraints, says Minister
“The project has been delayed by 216 months due to fund constraints and forest land as reported by the implementing agency on the on-line computerised monitoring system portal,” the minister added.
Inderjit pointed out that law and order issues, delay in land acquisition, environment and forest clearances, funding constraints, rehabilitation and resettlement issues, local body/municipal permissions, utility shifting, and contractual issues were the major reasons for the delay in timely completion of the projects.
The Minister said the ministry has undertaken a range of steps which follow the periodic review of projects under PRAGATI through video conferencing, rigorous project appraisal, on-line computerised monitoring system (OCMS) for better monitoring, setting up of revised cost committees in the Ministries for fixation of responsibility for time and cost overruns, regular review of infrastructure projects by the concerned administrative Ministries, and setting up of Central Sector Projects Coordination Committees (CSPCCs) in the States under the Chief Secretaries for removal of bottlenecks and for facilitating the speedy implementation of major projects.
Key reasons for time over run
Law and order issues, delay in land acquisition, environment & forest clearances, funding constraints, R&R issues, local body permissions, utility shifting, and contractual issues were the reasons for delay in completion of projects.