COVID-19 lockdown has stalled projects worth Rs 21.11 lakh cr in Red Zones: Study

• The 8,917 stalled projects across various sectors were under various stages of execution in 108 Red Zone districts

• The stalled projects in 108 red zone districts account for 37.4 percent of the total projects under execution across the country

New Delhi: With businesses and industrial activity yet to resume in Red Zones because of the COVID-19 pandemic, around 8,917 projects worth over Rs 21.11 lakh crore are stalled, a survey conducted by a project monitoring organisation showed. According to the survey conducted by Projects Today, these 8,917 stalled projects across various sectors were under various stages of execution in 108 Red Zone districts. The government has classified the country into green, orange and red zones on the basis of COVID-19 cases. Although the Centre has announced relaxations in lockdown 4.0, activities in containment zones are still restricted.

The Projects Today survey said that the stalled projects in 108 red zone districts account for 37.4 percent of the total projects under execution across the country.

17,372 projects were under implementation when COVID-19 lockdown was announced

The study said that a total of 17,372 projects entailing a total investment of Rs 56.51 lakh crore were in various stages of implementation when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first announced the lockdown on March 25. "Following the gradual withdrawal of the lockdown, some of the government projects might have restarted. A country, which has already seen one year of economic downturn, cannot afford to keep the ongoing projects under lockdown for a long time," it said.

7,998 stalled projects are in infrastructure sector

Of these 8,917 projects, as many as 7,998, entailing an investment of over Rs 16.26 lakh crore, are in the infrastructure sector, the Projects Today study said. These include 1,292 road projects, 166 railway projects, 203 hospital projects, 3,971 real estate projects, 630 under-construction commercial complexes and 178 industrial parks, among others.

The remaining over 900 projects pertain to sectors like manufacturing, irrigation, power and mining. Around 62.9 percent of the total stalled projects are owned by government agencies. While the Central government agencies are executing 1,036 projects worth Rs 4.42 lakh crore, various departments of the state governments are executing 2,609 projects worth Rs 8.86 lakh crore.

Private sector executing 5,272 projects worth Rs 7.83 lakh crore

"The private sector alone was executing 5,272 projects with a total outlay of more than ₹7.83 lakh crore. Since it will take a while for the private sector to take up the halted projects, government agencies would have to take initiatives to kickstart their halted projects on a war footing basis," the study said.

The survey also found out that of the 19 states and three union territories where all the 130 red zone districts are located, Maharashtra tops the list in terms of halted projects.

"The urgency of revival in projects investment in these states can be gauged by the fact that the top five states together account for 41.3 percent of India's manufacturing output, 37.1 percent of services output and around 40 percent of the GDP," it said.

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