Speed up sought by CII of 62 stalled Infra projects
A list of 62 stalled infrastructure projects of over 1000-crore each has been submitted by the industry chamber, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to the Project Management Group (PMG), set up by the government in the Cabinet Secretariat, to speed up their progress. A total of Rs.3.93 lakh crore investments are riding on these projects. This move is said to unlock investments and give a thrust to growth, thereby boosting the economy.
The clearance of 17 large infrastructure projects by the PMG in the last two weeks has given an impetus to the economy. Given the current scenario, it becomes imperative that projects are awarded only after securing proper clearances, thereby facilitating their smooth progress without any impediments. It is also essential to have an effective monitoring system in place to evaluate their progress.
A major chunk of these projects are in the power sector with as many as 27 projects. Prominent among these are the Jaitapur civil nuclear energy plant which invovles an investment of Rs. 33,000 crores and the Jharkhand Integrated Power project taken up by Reliance Power. There are many other large power projects awarded to Tata Power, Lanco, Essar and Adani groups.
Besides power projects, CII’s list consists of 11 projects that come under the roads and highway sector, hydropower sector accounting for eight, oil and gas and ports sectors having 5 each, four in cities/townships/SEZ sector and one each in airport and urban mobility sectors.
There have been many obstacles that have hampered the progress of infrastructure projects. Some of the major impediments that promoters have faced are those related to land acquisition, environmental clearances and fuel supply. Other issues like mining have also played spoilsport.
Environmental issues, local resistance as well as forest clearances have resulted in the delay of hydro projects. Besides, other issues like shifting of existing pipes and permissions for water usage have also resulted in a roadblock to these projects. In the case of roads and highway projects, land acquisition is seen as the major challenge. State support agreements and borrow area permits have been causes of delay as well.
As per the assessment by CII, it has been seen that delay in projects results in blockage of available funds. This leads to inefficiencies in capital use thereby adding to bank’s non-performing assets. Another industry chamber, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has submitted a list of over 50 delayed projects to the Cabinet Secretary. Projects with above Rs 1,000 crore investments are seen in sectors such as roads, highways, oil and gas, power, mining and metals.
