As many as 448 central sector infrastructure projects have reported a cost overrun of over Rs 4.02 lakh crore as of February 21, 2021.
The monthly Flash Report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said that 539 projects are running behind schedule.
"Total original cost of implementation of the 1,739 projects was Rs 22,18,210.29 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 26,20,618.44 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,02,408.15 crore (18.14 per cent of original cost)," it said.
The expenditure incurred on these projects till January 2021 is over Rs 12.29 lakh crore, which is 46.92 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects.