ANALYSIS OF FACTORS LEADING TO

SCHEDULE OVERRUN IN
INDIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Submitted by
Richa Chouksey
SPA/NS/BEM/779

DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

SYNOPSIS
Introduction
Of the 1,623 infrastructure projects currently under implementation in India worth over Rs 150
crore, over a fifth have recorded cost overruns accumulating to over Rs 3.88 lakh crore due to
continued delays, among other reasons. According to data from the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation, another 552 projects have also recorded time escalation.

Of 552 delayed projects, 187 have been delayed between 1 to 12 months, 121 projects between
13 to 24 months, 132 projects between 25 to 60 months and 112 projects lagging schedules by 61
months and more. (Anon., n.d.)

Indian construction sector has become one of the major contributors in Indian economy. It is the
second largest economic activity after agriculture, and has contributed a significant percentage to
India’s GDP over the past few years.

While the importance of construction industry in India has grown significantly, Construction
projects in India have become infamous for delays and cost overruns. In most countries biggest
client is government and unlike private industry, many government project experience delay and
hence experiences cost overrun. As a result there is a crucial need to develop a systematic
analysis of the reasons of delays and to frame a clear understanding for industry professionals to
prevent delays.

Delay in construction project has been a research topic for decades, but as the policies and
approval processes differ from country to country, factors causing delays remain specific to the
country’s work culture and statutory proceedings. The research conduct aims at analyzing the
factors of delay specific to Indian Construction Projects addressing the approval and clearance
process, resource availability, stakeholder’s professional conduct and environmental causes. Also
the research aims at suggesting modifications and measures to mitigate the risk of delay in timely
delivery of the construction projects.

Need of Study
Since Indian construction industry is the second largest contributor to Indian economy, it is
imperative to understand the causes of delay in pre, post and during construction phase of a
project. It is important to identify the effective measures to counter delays to avoid unnecessary
cost overruns.
Research Gap
Previous research work “Framework for Proactive Delay Analysis for Initiation of Delay
Prevention Mechanism” by Miss Tejaswita Raj, include analysis of factors causing delay to
construction projects without being particular to Indian Context, whereas construction projects in
India which is a developing nation and which has its own specific Statutory approval procedures
is subject to delays unlike other nations.

Aim
The aim of the research is to analyze the factors leading to schedule overrun in construction
projects in India and hence suggest delay risk mitigation measures.

Objective
 To identify factors causing delay in the construction projects in India
 To identify modifications and measures for prevention of delays caused to construction
projects in India.

Scope
Scope of the research work will be limited to the construction projects in India, effectively that
belongs to Indian Government.

References
Analysing factors affecting delay in Indian Construction Projects by Hemanta Doloi, Anil
Sawhani, K.C. Iyer, Sameer Rantala

Analysing delay factors in indian affecting construction projects by Veera Vijay. Divi and
Sundara Kumar. P

Critical analysis of causes of delay in residential construction projects in india by Subhav Singh,
Anju Bala, Saurav Dixit and Deekshant Varshney

Causes of Delays in any Construction Project by Naikwadi Sumaiyya , Khare Pranay