Don't wait for me, fix the delays — a note from someone who's been saying this for years

When I read the report that the Prime Minister told officials “Don’t wait for me, fix project delays” I felt both relief and a familiar tug of validation PM Modi to officials: Don't wait for me, fix project delays. Relief because leadership recognising a chronic problem is useful; validation because these are not new observations for me — I have been writing about implementation mechanics, accountability and how to convert promises into delivered outcomes for years.

I want to be plain: announcing projects is easy. Delivering them on time, within budget and with the promised quality is the hard work. The PM’s instruction is a spotlight on the implementation gap we must close.

Why projects stall — what I see on the ground

From my experience and the many emails and blogs I’ve written, project delays usually stem from a handful of recurring issues:

• Fragmented accountability — too many stakeholders, no single person responsible.
• Undefined or shifting targets — goals that are vague or lack measurable milestones.
• Funding ambiguity — promises without clear financing pathways (or reliance on uncertain borrowings).
• Process friction — approvals, land, permissions, vendor ecosystems and slow procurement.
• Weak monitoring — no independent, timely, and public tracking of progress.
• Perverse incentives — no rewards for on-time delivery, or penalties for chronic slippage.

These are not abstractions. They are practical barriers I’ve tried to address in my previous notes on manifestos, accountability and sectoral schemes.

I flagged this before — and suggested fixes

Years ago I tried to make this practical and readable. Two ideas I’ve repeatedly advocated are worth recalling because they map directly to the PM’s exhortation:

• A simple, public, itemised implementation plan for every promise — what I called the “Sankalp to Sampanna” idea in my summary of the Sankalp Patra (BJP manifesto) where each manifesto item is broken down into targets, methods, inputs and a named accountable minister Simple Summary of Sankalp.
• Legal and procedural transparency to stop irresponsible promises — what I labelled PIPPPA (Prevention of Irresponsible Promises by Political Parties Act) and related proposals that force parties to state costs and funding sources for each promise (Form A / Form B style) EC: Parties must declare what 'freebies' will cost and my commentary on a model manifesto and disclosure (Model Manifesto 2024 / Sankalp to Sampanna).

If you read those posts you’ll see the through-line: I have not just noticed the problem — I proposed structures to fix it.

The core idea I want to highlight is this — take a moment to notice that I brought up these suggestions years ago. I had predicted these challenges and proposed practical remedies. Seeing today's emphasis on fixing delays feels like a vindication of those earlier proposals and a renewed urgency to implement them now.

(You can find a practical version of my earlier push for citizen feedback and measurable promises in my call for a public survey and tracking mechanism: “Your opportunity to get heard” Your Opportunity to Get Heard.)

Practical measures that matter (a distilled checklist)

When the PM says “fix the delays,” here are practical, field‑tested steps I keep coming back to:

• Assign single-point accountability

• Every major deliverable should have one responsible minister/official with published contact and clear escalation rules. (See my “one minister per item” idea in Sankalp to Sampanna (Model Manifesto 2024).

• Publish measurable milestones and timelines

• Public dashboards showing Target vs Achievement, quarterly updates and third-party monitoring. I argued for this transparency repeatedly in my manifesto-action notes (Sankalp to Sampanna).

• Require public costing and financing plans for promises

• If a scheme is announced, it should include estimated unit cost, target beneficiary count and a credible revenue/financing plan — the spirit of Form A / Form B proposed by the Election Commission EC: Parties must declare what 'freebies' will cost.

• Independent verification and citizen feedback

• Use third-party auditors, think‑tanks and citizen rating systems to validate progress. I proposed anonymous citizen feedback loops and public opinion mechanisms as early as 2022 (Your Opportunity to Get Heard).

• Link incentives and penalties to delivery

• Reward Ministries and agencies that meet timelines with budget/recognition; require remedial plans and accountability hearings for those that don’t.

• Fix the procurement and vendor ecosystem

• Pre‑qualify quality vendors, reduce procedural delay, and create regional vendor ecosystems so projects aren’t stalled waiting for a single supplier. (This connects to many of my sectoral posts, e.g., on rooftop solar where vendor quality and ecosystem mattered — see my Surya Ghar series Dear PM: Here is how to take Surya to the next level).

A short example — rooftop solar (a microcosm of the bigger problem)

When the government pushes a big scheme — say rooftop solar — we saw the promise but also the predictable delays: ambiguous responsibilities, apartment dwellers left out, and DISCOM incentives misaligned. I wrote about cooperative and technical solutions for rooftop solar years ago, proposing cooperative solar farms, vendor ecosystems and clear crediting mechanisms so urban residents aren’t excluded Dear PM: Here is how to take Surya to the next level. That micro-example shows the same themes: accountability, finance clarity, and operational design.

Why this moment matters

Leaders can call for action. That’s important. But calls only become change when they are translated into systems: names, dates, budgets, measurable outcomes, public scrutiny. The PM’s instruction is a leadership nudge; it becomes meaningful when ministries adopt the discipline of public plans and public measurement.

Reading the news today made me pause — because this is exactly the place where my earlier suggestions connect to current policy direction. I feel a quiet satisfaction that these ideas have relevance now, and a renewed urgency. We must move from exhortation to institutionalisation.

I have been insisting on this for years — simplifying promises, naming accountability, publishing costs and timelines, and inviting the public into a measurable conversation. The PM’s directive is the right prompt. Let us make sure it becomes the routine.

---

Regards,
Hemen Parekh