West Bengal's stalled infrastructure projects to get double-engine boost

Integration of Bengal into global supply chain one of BJP's election pitches

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forming the government in West Bengal for the first time, the central government is likely to go full throttle on several infrastructure projects in the state. 

Many of those, particularly in the railways, had been stuck due to issues regarding land acquisition. 

In its election manifesto, the BJP promised infrastructure development and coastal economic zones in the state so as to integrate the coastal economy into global supply chains. 

A senior government official said the Railways had identified 17 such projects that had been stuck for long and were not being monitored. 

These track-network expansion projects, covering 400 km and likely to cost around ₹4,500 crore, are likely to be taken up again, the official said. 

The Railways is likely to coordinate with the state government on around 12 projects being targeted for completion but the Centre has not been able to acquire land. 

Barring the Sivok-Rangpo line, the railways has not been able to acquire a single hectare for the remaining 11, according to information given by the ministry in Parliament. 

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (Mospi’s) latest monthly report, 84 central projects are ongoing. These, spanning various infrastructure ministries, are estimated to cost ₹1.5 trillion and have already seen a cost escalation of nearly ₹14,000 crore. 

Many of these, such as coal and power projects, have seen a significant change in completion timelines, but no corresponding escalation in costs. 

A large part of the escalated costs, according to the Mospi report, is on account of railways, which saw those rising from ₹49,559 crore to ₹60,771 crore. 

Several projects across sectors like energy have seen such delays as long as 10 years, with one power project seeing costs doubling to ₹2,800 crore over the period. 

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had had heated arguments with Trinamool members in Parliament over the lack of progress on projects in the state and also cited Kolkata Metro as an example during the election campaign in West Bengal. 

In a reply in Parliament earlier, the minister said the transporter required 4,662 hectares, of which the state, then under the Mamata Banerjee government, had only provided 27 per cent of it. 

Moreover, a lot of these projects have seen change in scope, a second official said, explaining the cost escalation. 

A change in scope refers to extra infrastructure or branch lines being executed after the project cost has been sanctioned. 

The Kolkata Metro will likely see a boost in project speed. In India, it is the only metro rail run by the railways, and has seen slow progress in the past. 

“Work pertaining to 4 Metro corridors at a total length of about 52 Km is under progress, out of which 20 Km of work is held up due to land acquisition and utility shifting issues pertaining to State Government. In the rest of the Metro stretch, though the work is in progress yet facing difficulties due to one or other reasons at the end of State Government,” the ministry had said. 

It also cited procedural delays, re-alignment requirements, and lack of clearances despite instructions by courts as barriers. 

Executives and officials also expect some momentum on the ₹25,000 crore proposed deep-sea Tajpur Port, where several major players had previously expressed interest. 

The Banerjee government had sought interest in the project recently but then scrapped the tender. 

The government may also push for more waterways operations in the state.