This was revealed by the latest Flash Report on central-sector infrastructure projects by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Mospi), released on Friday, for projects costing ₹150 crore and above | Photo: X@GoIStats
The cost overrun of centrally funded infrastructure projects in 17 ministries stood at ₹5.61 trillion in March relative to original estimates, easing from ₹5.66 trillion in February, but remaining higher than the January estimate of ₹5.53 trillion.
This was revealed by the latest Flash Report on central-sector infrastructure projects by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Mospi), released on Friday, for projects costing ₹150 crore and above.
Aggregate costs of centrally funded infrastructure projects jumped 15.64 per cent in March as cost overruns pushed revised estimates to ₹41.5 trillion from their original cost of ₹35.9 trillion across 1,941 ongoing projects, said the report.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti’s Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation continued to report the steepest overrun among individual ministries. The revised cost stood at ₹2.26 trillion in March and recorded an overrun of ₹1.04 trillion, an 85.2 per cent increase.
During the same month, the cost overrun of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications was 80.8 per cent, amounting to ₹1.22 trillion, while the Ministry of Mines registered an escalation of nearly 26.2 per cent or ₹2,154.14 crore.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), which accounted for the largest share of ongoing central projects, saw its costs rise 2.53 per cent over the original outlay in March, translating into an overrun of about ₹26,179 crore.
Similarly, projects under Health and Family Welfare, Railways, Steel, and Petroleum & Natural Gas saw costs rise by 24.4 per cent, 21.8 per cent, 16.8 per cent, and 15.2 per cent, respectively, for the same month.
In contrast, only a handful of ministries, such as Higher Education and Sports, reported savings. Their revised expenditures were below the original estimates by 1.75 per cent and 32.5 per cent, respectively.
