'States should set up project monitoring groups as in PMO'

MUMBAI: To speed up delayed projects, states should set up project-monitoring-groups, as in the Prime Minister's Office, a senior government official said today.

Nine states - Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bengal -- are currently in the process of setting up project-monitoring-groups (PMG).

"Some states have already done it, while others are in the process of getting necessary training for setting up PMGs. We expect all these PMGs will be operational in the next 15-20 days," PMO's PMG head Anil Swarup said at a CII event here today.

These groups would mostly take up projects worth less than Rs 1,000 crore. "If more states come forward to set up such PMGs, many projects worth less than Rs 1000-crore, which are stuck due to several issues, can be cleared and investments can flow in the states," he said. The PMG at the PMO has identified 419 stalled projects, worth almost Rs 20 lakh crore, that had been pending for years. Of these, problems for 137 projects worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore have been resolved in the past seven months since the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) started functioning.

"Out of these 137 projects, issues pertaining to 84, totalling Rs 3.71 trillion investment, have been sorted out completely and work on them is progressing," Swarup said.

He said projects related to coal mining and power formed the biggest chunk of the stalled projects, followed by those stuck over forest and environmental clearances. "Some 70,000 MW-worth coal related projects have been cleared by the PMG. Besides, some major road projects have also been cleared," he added.