Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The central government is placing focused attention on five central sector projects in the Northeast region, including one in Assam, for unprecedented delays and cost overruns. Each of the projects cost Rs 150 crore and above.
The Government of India has identified 51 delayed projects, including the five from the NE, and has stressed that these projects are required to be taken up for special monitoring by the respective administrative ministries.
These facts were revealed in a report titled ‘Project Implementation: An Overview, March 2024’, published by the Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
An analysis of projects showing substantial time and cost overruns shows that 51 projects with a cost overrun of 50% or more and a time overrun of 50 months or more contribute nearly 37.35% of the total cost overrun and 19.92% of the total time overrun.
Regarding the five projects in the NE, the ministry has compiled a sector-wise list of projects requiring focused attention.
The first such project is the Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project, with an 8x250 MW capacity, being implemented under NHPC. The original date of commissioning of the project was set for September 2010. The commissioning date has now been deferred to May 2026. The original cost of the project was Rs. 6285.33 crore. The anticipated cost has now been revised to Rs. 21247.54 crore. The cost overrun of the project is placed at 238.05%, and the time overrun is stated to be 188 months. The hydroelectric project is being constructed at Gerukamukh on the Assam-Arunachal border.
The next on the list is the Jiribam to Imphal (Tupui) railway project of NF Railways. The original date of commissioning was set for March 2011. Now, the anticipated date of commissioning has been pushed back to December 2026. The original cost of the project was Rs. 4454.17 crore. The anticipated cost is now stated to be Rs 19605.91 crore. The cost overrun has touched 340.17%, and the time overrun is placed at 189 months.
The third project on the list of delayed projects in NE is the construction of a new railway track from Dimapur to Zubza (Kohima), which is a national project under NF Railways. The original date of commissioning of this new railway track was March 2015. This has now been revised to March 2026. The project, slated to cost Rs. 2326.52 crore, has been revised to an anticipated cost of Rs. 6663 crore. The cost overrun of this project is calculated to be 186.39%, and the time overrun has been estimated at 132 months.
The fourth project on the delayed list is the railway track from Murkongselek in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. The original date of commissioning of this new railway track was March 2020, which has now been rescheduled to March 2025. The original cost of the project was Rs. 414.84 crore. The cost has now escalated to Rs. 1187.49 crore. The cost overrun is placed at 186.25% and the time overrun at 60 months.
The fifth project pertains to the Four Laning of Numaligarh to Jorhat section of the national highway in Upper Assam. The original completion time was May 2018, but inordinate delays have pushed back the date of completion to March 2024. However, as of March 31, 2024, the physical completion of the work is at 99%. The original cost of the four-laning project was set at Rs. 454.89 crore. It is now anticipated to cost Rs. 814.56 crore. The cost overrun is 79.07%, and the time overrun is placed at 70 months.
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