Over 630 Infrastructure Projects Facing Delays, Government Steps In to Speed Up Work

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has told the Rajya Sabha that there are 637 infrastructure projects, many of them under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme, that are currently affected by various issues that have led to delays.

These delays are primarily attributed to perennial problems related to land acquisition as well as financial troubles of contractors, Gadkari added. Moreover, announced bio-events, known as force majeure such as natural disasters along with shortages of critical construction materials, have impeded the completion of these essential works of infrastructure even further.

The implementation of 637 projects, including those covered under the purposans, had been delayed,” Gadkari said while responding to questions in Parliament. Bharatmala Pariyojan is among the top flagship programs of India for developing highways higher connectivity and easy logistics in the country.

Following the increasing delays, the government has launched many corrective measures for the completion of these projects on a fast-track basis. He pointed out that the government has taken steps to ease the process of acquiring land, considered one of the major bottlenecks. Moreover, the Parivesh Portal – the platform for obtaining forest and environmental clearance – has been updated to provide faster clearance.

In clinical terms, with the industry benefits, online approval of GAD of ROBs and RUBs has been introduced in coordination with Indian Railways to enable smoother execution of the project. In addition, periodic review meetings are being held involving all stakeholders, including state governments and project implementing agencies, controlled daily to review the progress and address issues in real-time.

He reassured that not every delay causes costs to escalate at the project level, countering concerns of monetary repercussions owing to delays. “In case of delay not attributable to the contractor, price escalation is paid as per contract, which may or may not mean additional cost, depending upon the final calculation. But when the contractor itself delays the project, then penalty gets applied and the government does not pay any additional cost,” he explained.

The minister also reassured that the government will ensure all such projects are also completed in time.