Land acquisition issues appear to be a growing factor in the delay of millions of dollars of infrastructure and industrial projects in India. Officials are pushing new legislation to boost compensation to landowners, but concerns over cost impacts may keep the provisions bottled up in the country's parliament.
A recent study by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation says the proportion of federal projects running behind schedule increased to over 53% in December 2010 from 34% in March 2007. Further, while environmental and funding issues remain major obstacles, procuring land is becoming a key challenge for more projects.