New Delhi: Delays and cost-overruns have come to haunt the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which has made infrastructure the cornerstone of its push for a bigger economy. The delays have cost the exchequer Rs 3 lakh crore, says a report in the Economic Times. But the solution – speeding things up – which means quicker clearances for “linear infrastrucutre” projects – may prove to be a challenge in itself.As per the report by Anubhuti Vishnoi, 75% of projects running behind schedule are delayed in the pre-construction stage. And 35% of those delays are due to the time-consuming land acquisition process. Land is a sensitive issue in the agriculture-dependent Indian economy, where rural wages and primary agricultural jobs have become increasingly important in the post-COVID-19 years.Over 1 crore workers had returned to rural areas during the lockdown, where a subsistence economy based on small plots of lands was guaranteed, as against an uncertain income in urban centres.Also read: Dramatic Increase in Rural Working Women is Reflective of Economic Distress, Not New Job Opportunities: ReportThe solution being considered by the government for tackling delays – which it proposes to bring up in the forthcoming Sixth National Conference of Chief Secretaries – is single-window clearances for many “central linear infrastructure” projects. For example, developers must seek 22 approvals or permits across 16 different state agencies at present, as there is no single window mechanism.The ET report cites data from PRAGATI, a digital e-governance platform (its full-form is Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) as well as from the environment ministry’s PARIVESH 2.0 system. The analysis shows that time taken for forest, wildlife and environmental clearances cumulatively, including state and central agencies, ranges from 2–4 years.Securing right of way for infrastructure projects, green clearances, utility shifting and state permissions are the four biggest factors behind delays in implementation.The PRAGATI data is based on a review of over 3,300 infrastructure projects worth Rs 85 lakh crore. Thirty-five per cent of the delays were due to land acquisition, it found.Linear infrastructure in the government’s terminology refers to roads, highways, canals and power lines that occupy land and may require permission from land owners as well as compensation. However, land acquisition has proved to be a hurdle for the government in many scenarios.For example, agitating farmers in Gujarat recently rejected a revised compensation policy announced by the state’s BJP government in the state. It faced stiff opposition from farmers against the installation of high-voltage transmission lines and electricity poles across agricultural lands, reported Financial Express.Similarly, residents of rural Prayagraj are protesting against the proposed construction of a nuclear power plant on grounds of environmental worry as well as to protect their farming assets.Compesation conflicts, too, leads to cost overruns and delays across projects.The PRAGATI report cited in ET also says that the average time for completing utility shifting is 500-600 days against the expected 200-300 days.It also shows that environmental clearances have been a time-consuming affairs for the Modi government. “Forest clearances, which should be granted within 150 days, are taking over 500 days. Wildlife clearance processes stretch 1.5-3.5 years while environmental clearances can take 180 days to 2.5 years,” says the ET report, again citing the official data.The report does not say what time period these delays relate to. Further, the perspective of the government’s report is of delays in infrastructure projects. It does not deal with other factors, such as environmental costs of construction, the demands for fair compensation, the potential impact of rehabilitation and resettlement burden on individuals and communities and so on.As The Wire has reported, the perspective of ‘slow’ or ‘quick’ environmental clearances can vary depending on the stakeholders’ perspective.Also read: More Buildings Develop Cracks in Uttarakhand Towns, Forcing People to Leave HomesAs per the PRAGATI data cited in ET, in terms of “efficiency of land acquisition for national highways”, Haryana tops the rankings with a 75.8 score followed by Madhya Pradesh (66.2), Rajasthan (65.9), Andhra Pradesh (63.8) and Chhattisgarh and Kerala at 63. Tamil Nadu (45.4), Maharashtra (43.6) and Gujarat, the relatively developed and more industrialised states, had a 30.5 score.The solution being suggested for state governments to consider is a centralised “single-window”, web-based portal for clearances, for deadlines for power lines etc to be fixed in advance and for a “single point of ownership” in every state for pre- and post-project approvals.Further, of late, there has been a flurry of accidents and mishaps on highways, even newly-constructed ones, indicating that the problems spread beyond delays to maintenance costs as well as quality control.