Close to ₹65,000 crore public sector investments mainly in energy infrastructure are stuck due to land acquisition issues, according to the Prime Minister’s Project Monitoring Group.
The recently tabled Economic Survey 2014-15 has also stated that contrary to popular belief, it is the Government-owned company projects that have been stuck.
The projects belonging to NTPC and various subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd, ranging from ₹1,000 crore to ₹20,000 crore, are stalled on land acquisition issues. Power Grid Corporation of India is another company which has been affected.
The company still has 15 major transmission lines pending due to land acquisition issues (right of way). According to the Central Electricity Authority, deadline for completion of at least 13 Power Grid projects has been pushed back by more than two years because of delay in land acquisition.
In the private sector, Reliance Power’s Tilaiya ultra-mega power project is a major project stuck due to land acquisition.
According to the Economic Survey 2014-15, 161 projects of Government-owned companies are stalled due to land acquisition.
“Perhaps contrary to popular belief, the evidence points towards over exuberance and a credit bubble as primary reasons for stalled projects in the private sector. On the flipside, Government projects were most severely affected by ‘policy paralysis’ of regulatory clearances,” it said.