As many as 34 public sector infrastructure projects, which have incurred a total expenditure of Rs 1,047 crore, have been frozen or abandoned due to technological, land or fund constraints, according to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
These projects relate to coal, fertilisers, mines, steel, petroleum, power, railways, surface transport, telecom and urban development.
The study reveals that among the coal projects that were frozen as on December 31, 2001, nine were in Bihar, two in Rajasthan and one each in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa.
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Out of the affected power projects, three were located in Bihar and two in West Bengal. The telecom projects include one each in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharasthra.
The study also shows that 188 out of 458 PSU projects suffered a cost overrun of over 34 per cent with the railways accounting for the largest number of such projects at 130. The cost of these 188 projects escalated from Rs 63,843 crore to Rs 85,757 crore.
Railway projects suffered the largest time overrun ranging from 9 to 132 months, followed by surface transport (1-132 months), coal (2-96 months), atomic energy (21-81 months), telecom (3-72 months), urban development (6-67 months), information and broadcasting (30-57 months), petroleum (1-52 months) and steel (2-51 months).