PM’s office to review delayed projects worth 50,000cr this week

The government is working on a new plan under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to kick-start stalled road, power and other large projects, essential to create jobs and push growth in the broader economy.

Beginning Monday, the top officials from the PMO and key ministries will carry out a statuscheck of two specific projects every day, identify the reasons for delays, and decide on measures to be taken immediately to get these projects going.

As many as 11 such projects worth more than ` 50,000 crore will be taken up for review during the week.

These projects cover a range of sectors from thermal power to highways. Besides top PMO officials, secretaries from the ministries related to these projects and officials from the banking division are expected to attend the meetings.

The move is aimed at hastening decision-making and reducing delays due to a host of factors, including bureaucratic inter-ministerial consultations, environmental concerns and procedural bottlenecks at the states.

“The inputs from this meeting are crucial. If it helps in pushing project implementation, the process could be made more institutional by holding similar review meetings every week at the PMO specifically on stalled projects,” a top source, who did not wish to be identified, said.

The government may also set up a three-member group to recommend ways on getting stalled projects going. Efforts are also on to make more funds available for the cash-starved infrastructure sector. Last month, finance minister Arun Jaitley discussed the issue with bank chiefs.

Mounting bad loans, which have topped ` 3 lakh crore, have made banks reluctant to lend to projects that are prone to delays. India would require about $1 trillion (about ` 64 lakh crore) — half the value of the national GDP — over the next five years to overhaul its collapsing infrastructure.

As of January 1, more than four out of 10 central infrastructure projects worth more than ` 100 crore, were running behind schedule. The Narendra Modiled government aims to build 30 km of highways every day, thrice more than the previous UPA government’s target, which it had failed to achieve.