With private investments depressed and the infrastructure sector in desperate need of a ramp-up, the delay in core projects pinches all the more.
When the data for the second quarter showed GDP growth to have beaten all expectations, with a hectic pace of 8.9 per cent, the mood was naturally jubilant. Policymakers were quick to suggest a revision of forecast for the year; Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, for instance, hinted at an upward reassessment to 9 per cent. If the economy does get to that exalted level it will have done so despite the government machinery, not because of it. Apart from sounding optimistic on every public occasion the government has done precious little to ensure that its record of project execution and delivery is appropriate to an economy on the fast track.
This should come as no surprise; the history of projects that involve the government is dotted with delays and cost overruns. So long as the economy grew at its ‘Hindu ‘rate of growth before the 1990s, it made no difference; equally, project delays mattered little during the period of high growth, powered by the private sector. With private investments persistently depressed and the infrastructure sector in desperate need of a ramp-up, the delays in core projects pinch all the more. Timely execution could, under the circumstances, add value on both counts, as cues for private investments and booster shots for the intermediate and final goods sectors. But that is not to be, as a report by the Ministry of Programme Implementation on Central projects costing over Rs 150 crore shows. Examining the record of 606 projects across the core sector the report finds 299 — that is, almost half of them — delayed in varying degrees; of this number, 163 were delayed form between one and five years. What is surprising that, of the 606 projects, 119 did not have dates of commissioning and another 72 began without any date of completion or gestation period, the dates being finalised much later. Add these projects up and the picture of shoddy operations afflicts 483 projects. Given this record, it is surprising that the panel found 15 projects ahead of schedule; what is not surprising is that the tardy implementation of Central projects has had a deleterious effect on the performance of the respective sectors; for the April-August period, the six core industries in the infrastructure sector registered a poor expansion of around 4 per cent — a shade lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Policymakers never tire of repeating the need for prompt delivery. All that they seem to have done is to record at least some of the delays, and for this the nation is grateful. About accountability for timely delivery however, New Delhi has little to show or say.
No comments:
Post a Comment