The exchequer might have a tough time accounting for this. The cumulative cost of all 519 central government-funded infrastructure projects of over Rs 100 crore is expected to rise by another Rs 46,000 crore by the time they are completed. Bulk of the escalation is in Railway projects.

According to the Flash Report on Central Sector Projects for April 2008, prepared by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Railways projects saw one of the biggest percentage spikes in their anticipated costs. For a total of 138 projects, the cost is expected to almost double from Rs 37,863 crore to Rs 70,237 crore by the time they are completed. At present, the revised cost estimate stands at Rs 41,741 crore, 10.4 per cent higher than the original cost.

The report notes that the total cost of all infrastructure projects under implementation is expected to go up 13.4 per cent from Rs 3,44,119 crore to Rs 3,90,230 crore. The biggest reason for the cost overrun is the delays in their execution.

Overall, 258 projects are running behind schedule, 13 are ahead of schedule and 146 others are running on time. Of the 53 projects that reported additional delays of up to 16 months in April this year, 50 are concentrated in just four sectors — power, railways, road transport and highways and telecommunications. Steel and petroleum, on the other hand, reported delays in one and two projects, respectively of 1-12 months.

In roads and highways, a total of 25 projects reported delays over the previous month’s expectation of up to 12 months. The report cited problems such as tardy progress by the contractor, termination of contracts, law and order situation in the region, late award of contract, etc. as the primary reasons for the delays. However, it added that the project authorities had failed to provide any specific reasons for the delays.

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