Cost of 25 major central government projects increases by ₹2.11 lakh crore due to delays

Delays in various major projects of the central government are now becoming a significant burden on the government exchequer. According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, the October 2026 report of the central government's PEMA portal has revealed that the total cost of 1,853 projects currently underway in the country has increased by ₹3.22 lakh crore.

The most shocking aspect of this report is that the budgets of just 25 mega projects have increased by ₹2.11 lakh crore. This amount accounts for nearly 65 per cent of the total cost escalation. This additional amount is so substantial that if it had been utilised, more than 4,200 schools costing ₹50 crore each or more than 1,400 hospitals costing ₹150 crore each could have been built. Furthermore, two major projects like the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway could have been completed with this amount.

The situation regarding adherence to timelines has also been found to be extremely concerning. The Hubballi-Ankola rail line in Karnataka is at the forefront in this regard. This project was to be completed by March 2005, but its target has now been shifted to March 2030, meaning this project is running 25 years behind schedule. Additionally, there are hydroelectric schemes such as Subansiri and Tapovan-Vishnugad, where the timelines have been extended by more than 16 years. Due to these delays, the general public is still waiting for facilities that should have been available one or two decades ago.

However, the report also states that there are 1,360 projects that are progressing on time or with a time extension of only up to two years.

Speaking on the reasons for delays in projects, former PWD head Hariom Sharma stated that often during long projects, governments change, and when the priorities of the new government change, difficulties arise in releasing funds, leading to further delays in projects, although such instances are now limited. Some mega projects are stalled due to administrative and policy hurdles.

Currently, infra projects in the country are undertaken in two phases. In the first phase, land acquisition, environment, and forest clearances are obtained, while construction work begins in the second phase. Due to the 2013 Act, protests have decreased as proper compensation is being provided. Furthermore, due to competition in tenders, many projects are being built at 10-15 per cent less than the decided budget. It is hoped that the problem of delays and cost escalation will rapidly decrease in the coming time due to multi-level monitoring.