Odisha sets up CM-Pragati to fast-track infrastructure project execution

The Chief Minister-led panel will review critical projects, resolve inter-departmental bottlenecks and improve capital expenditure utilisation through monthly monitoring.

As delays in infrastructure projects due to regulatory compliance, policy hurdles and inter-departmental coordination issues weigh on capital expenditure (capex) utilisation in Odisha, the state government has constituted a high-level governance mechanism, CM-Pragati, on the lines of the Centre's PM-Pragati (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) platform to monitor critical projects and resolve implementation bottlenecks.

 

Odisha claims to be the first state to set up such a Chief Minister-led mechanism, marking another institutional reform in its governance architecture following the establishment of the State Institute for Transformative Initiatives-Odisha (SITI-Odisha) as the state's premier policy think tank, which replaced the erstwhile State Planning Board.

  

The 12-member panel, headed by the Chief Minister, will monitor compliance with decisions, flag unresolved issues and bring strategic infrastructure projects under direct monitoring at the highest level of government, backed by an IT-enabled dashboard to track progress and ensure time-bound resolution of pending issues.

 

The committee will meet once every month to review critical and delayed projects of the state, ongoing projects requiring intervention and proposed projects of strategic importance to Odisha. The government has stipulated that projects worth more than ₹10 crore from several departments will be eligible for consideration.

 

However, the government has not prescribed automatic inclusion of every project meeting the investment threshold. Projects will be selected on a priority basis, taking into account their strategic importance, criticality, prolonged delays, implementation bottlenecks and public significance.

 

The mechanism will also cover central government projects requiring intervention by the Odisha government. In particular, projects being monitored through the Centre's Project Monitoring Group (PMG) will be considered, where necessary.

 

In a notification issued by the Planning and Convergence Department, the government said the mechanism has been constituted "with a view to expediting the implementation of critical infrastructure in the state and for resolving systemic and inter-departmental bottlenecks". It is expected to provide a high-level platform for time-bound decision-making, resolution of policy issues and coordinated action by departments to accelerate project implementation and achieve intended outcomes.

 

Officials said the panel is expected to accelerate the execution of projects that face delays due to several issues. Despite a sharp increase in budgetary allocations for infrastructure creation, the state has struggled to maintain the pace of capital expenditure, they said.

 In 2025-26, Odisha could utilise only around 65.9 per cent of its budgeted capital outlay of ₹65,012 crore, spending ₹42,831 crore, according to provisional fiscal indicators. The situation remained challenging in the current financial year, as by September, the state had spent just ₹18,183 crore, or 25.2 per cent of its annual capital outlay of ₹72,100 crore. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its latest State Finances Audit Report, had also flagged weaknesses in budget planning, monitoring and execution.

 

"CM-Pragati could help address the structural gaps by moving critical project monitoring beyond individual departmental jurisdictions to a common decision-making platform under the Chief Minister. With the chief secretary, development commissioner and senior departmental secretaries represented on the committee, issues requiring intervention from multiple departments can be escalated and resolved at the highest level instead of getting caught in prolonged administrative correspondence," said a senior official.

 

The monthly review mechanism, he observed, could also help establish accountability for pending decisions, identify the departments responsible for delays and ensure that implementation agencies act on agreed timelines. The proposed IT-enabled dashboard will further strengthen project monitoring by providing a consolidated picture of physical progress, financial expenditure, pending approvals and unresolved bottlenecks, the official said.

 

The initiative is significant against the backdrop of Odisha's efforts to emerge as a major destination for domestic and international investments in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure and emerging technologies. While the state has been attracting substantial investment proposals across sectors, timely execution of projects remains critical to translating investment commitments into operational capacity.

 

All departments and implementing agencies have been asked to furnish accurate and updated project information, progress reports and action-taken reports to SITI-Odisha within the stipulated timeline.

 

Economists said mandatory submission of updated progress reports and action-taken reports to SITI-Odisha would enable the government to track whether decisions taken at review meetings are actually being implemented.

 

"If backed by regular follow-up and accountability, the mechanism could improve the pace of project execution, facilitate timely utilisation of budgetary allocations and reduce the gap between project approval and commissioning," said Amarendra Das, associate professor at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER).