Centre flags land, green tape hurdles in infra projects
Delays in land acquisition and obtaining various environmental clearances have significantly impacted the progress of infrastructure projects. Although central agencies are improving approval times, states are still facing lengthy procedures for necessary permits. Utility shifting is also causing major disruptions, often taking longer than projected. The recent analysis reveals a considerable…
New Delhi: The Centre has highlighted to states how land acquisition, green clearances, state permissions, and utility shifting are significantly delaying national linear infrastructure projects and causing substantial cost overruns, according to recent reports. These concerns were discussed ahead of the Sixth National Conference of Chief Secretaries, which will focus on accelerating these projects.
The main issue: Over 75% of delays in these projects are attributed to four pre-construction factors: land acquisition/right of way, green clearances, utility shifting, and state permissions. According to a PRAGATI-based project analysis, land acquisition issues are the most significant barrier, accounting for 35% of all delays.
A review of over 3,300 infrastructure projects worth ₹85 lakh crore found that land acquisition delays were the primary issue. Forest clearances, which should be granted within 150 days, are often delayed by over 500 days, while environmental clearances can take anywhere from 180 to 2.5 years. Utility shifting, which is expected to take 200-300 days, often takes 500-600 days.
Developers of central linear infrastructure must obtain 22 approvals/permits from 16 different state agencies, a process made more complicated by the lack of a single-window system. State rankings for land acquisition efficiency vary, with Haryana leading at 75.8, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Tamil Nadu and Gujarat scored lower, at 45.4 and 30.5 respectively.
Environment ministry's PARIVESH 2.0 analysis shows that forest, wildlife, and environmental clearances take 2-4 years, even though reforms have reduced the time for environmental clearances from 105 days to 61 days. Despite these efforts, linear projects continue to face long delays in obtaining approvals.
Proposed solutions include implementing a time-bound, portal-based process for land acquisition and green clearances, treating utility shifting as a separate project with clear timelines and accountability, and assigning a single point of ownership in every state for construction-input permissions and pre-construction readiness.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Economy's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
