Schedule explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Schedule to the Specific Relief Act, 1963 lists the "Category of projects and Infrastructure Sub-Sectors" that count as infrastructure projects for the Act. It has five categories: Transport, Energy, Water and Sanitation, Communication, and Social and Commercial Infrastructure. It was inserted by the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 and is used in sections 20A, 20B and 41(ha).
This article follows the consolidated text of the Act consulted (amendments shown up to Act 18 of 2018). Later amendments, including any notification under section 20A(2) amending the Schedule, should be checked before you rely on the list.
The Schedule is headed "" and sets out five categories of projects, each with lettered sub-sectors: Transport (a to g), Energy (a to f), Water and Sanitation (a to g), Communication (a to c) and Social and Commercial Infrastructure (a to j). A contract relating to a project in these categories is within section 20A's bar on injunctions that would impede or delay it, section 20B's Special Courts and section 41(ha). The footnote says the Schedule was inserted by Act 18 of 2018, section 14, with effect from 1 October 2018.
What the Schedule is for
The Schedule is not a rule on its own. It is a reference list. The Explanation to section 20A says that, for the purposes of section 20A, section 20B and clause (ha) of section 41, "infrastructure project" means "the category of projects and infrastructure Sub-Sectors specified in the Schedule". The three provisions are:
| Provision | What it does with the Schedule | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Section 20A | No injunction in a suit under the Act involving a contract relating to a Schedule infrastructure project, where it would impede or delay the project | Section 20A |
| Section 20B | State Government designates Civil Courts as Special Courts for suits on contracts relating to infrastructure projects | Sections 20B-20C |
| Section 41(ha) | An injunction cannot be granted if it would impede or delay an infrastructure project or interfere with the continued provision of the related facility or services | Section 41 |
Section 20A(2) lets the Central Government amend the Schedule by notification in the Official Gazette relating to any Category of projects or Infrastructure Sub-Sectors. The text consulted shows the Schedule as inserted in 2018 and nothing later, so the current Schedule should be checked.
If your contract is for a project that may fall in one of these categories, a discussion with our commercial suit filing team can help you see how these three provisions could affect a dispute.
The five categories
The Schedule is printed as a table with three columns: Sl. No., Category, and Infrastructure Sub-Sectors. The entries below follow the text consulted, including its slashes and abbreviations.
Item 1: Transport
- (a) Road and bridges
- (b) Ports (including Capital Dredging)
- (c) Shipyards (including a floating or land-based facility with the essential features of waterfront, turning basin, berthing and docking facility, slipways or ship lifts, and which is self-sufficient for carrying on shipbuilding/repair/breaking activities)
- (d) Inland Waterways
- (e) Airports
- (f) Railway Track, tunnels, viaducts, bridges, terminal infrastructure including stations and adjoining commercial infrastructure
- (g) Urban Public Transport (except rolling stock in case of urban road transport)
Item 2: Energy
- (a) Electricity Generation
- (b) Electricity Transmission
- (c) Electricity Distribution
- (d) Oil pipelines
- (e) Oil/Gas/Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage facility (including strategic storage of crude oil)
- (f) Gas pipelines (including city gas distribution network)
Item 3: Water and Sanitation
- (a) Solid Waste Management
- (b) Water supply pipelines
- (c) Water treatment plants
- (d) Sewage collection, treatment and disposal system
- (e) Irrigation (dams, channels, embankments, etc.)
- (f) Storm Water Drainage System
- (g) Slurry pipelines
Item 4: Communication
- (a) Telecommunication (Fixed network including optic fibre/wire/cable networks which provide broadband/internet)
- (b) Telecommunication towers
- (c) Telecommunications and Telecom Services
Item 5: Social and Commercial Infrastructure
- (a) Education Institutions (capital stock)
- (b) Sports infrastructure (including provision of Sports Stadia and Infrastructure for Academies for Training/Research in Sports and Sports-relating activities)
- (c) Hospitals (capital stock including Medical Colleges, Para Medical Training Institutes and Diagnostic Centres)
- (d) Tourism infrastructure viz. (i) three-star or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with population of more than one million; (ii) ropeways and cable cars
- (e) Common infrastructure for industrial parks and other parks with industrial activity such as food parks, textile parks, Special Economic Zones, tourism facilities and agriculture markets
- (f) Post-harvest storage infrastructure for agriculture and horticulture produce including cold storage
- (g) Terminal markets
- (h) Soil-testing laboratories
- (i) Cold chain (including cold room facility for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agriculture and allied produce, marine products and meat)
- (j) Affordable Housing (including a housing project using at least 50% of the Floor Area Ratio (FAR)/Floor Space Index (FSI) for dwelling units with carpet area of not more than 60 square meters
The Explanation on carpet area
Under item 5(j) the Schedule carries an Explanation: "For the purposes of this sub-clause, the term 'carpet area' shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (k) of section 2 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (16 of 2016)."
So "carpet area" in item 5(j) is not defined in the Specific Relief Act; it takes the meaning given in that 2016 Act. For that Act's definitions, see our post on section 2 of the RERA Act, 2016: apartment, building, carpet area and common areas. Our post on delay in possession and compensation under RERA covers a related topic under that Act.
Printing points in the Schedule
- Item 5(b) reads "Sports-relating activities" in the text consulted.
- Item 5(j) opens a bracket "(including a housing project ..." that is never closed in the print, and its Explanation speaks of "this sub-clause". Read the bracket as running to the end of the sub-clause description.
- Slashes and abbreviations such as LNG, FAR and FSI are as printed. FAR is the Floor Area Ratio and FSI the Floor Space Index, as the text itself spells out; LNG is Liquefied Natural Gas.
- The Schedule is headed "" and does not mention section 20B in its heading, although the Explanation to section 20A names section 20B among the provisions that use the expression.
| Item | Category | Number of lettered sub-sectors |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transport | 7 ((a) to (g)) |
| 2 | Energy | 6 ((a) to (f)) |
| 3 | Water and Sanitation | 7 ((a) to (g)) |
| 4 | Communication | 3 ((a) to (c)) |
| 5 | Social and Commercial Infrastructure | 10 ((a) to (j)) |
What the Schedule does not do
The Schedule does not itself say what happens to a contract. It only identifies the projects to which sections 20A, 20B and 41(ha) apply. It does not alter the other remedies in the Act, and the text consulted contains no notification amending it. Whether a given project falls in a sub-sector is a matter of reading the entry against the facts.
Practical points
If you are a contractor, supplier, financier or authority on an infrastructure contract, identify the item and sub-sector that your project falls under and note it in your records. Check whether any notification has changed the Schedule since 2018. Consider the consequences in a dispute: an injunction that would impede or delay the project may be barred (section 20A(1) and section 41(ha)), and a Special Court may have been designated for suits on such contracts (section 20B). The Act prints no limitation period for such suits; the law of limitation should be checked, and for the residuary article see the Limitation Act article on suits by Government and local authority and the residuary article.
Need help with an infrastructure contract dispute?
Whether your project is in the Schedule affects which injunction is available and where the suit may be heard. You can bring the contract to our commercial suit filing team and we will map the dispute against the Schedule and sections 20A to 20C.
Key takeaways
- The Schedule was inserted by Act 18 of 2018, section 14, with effect from 1 October 2018.
- It has five categories: Transport, Energy, Water and Sanitation, Communication, and Social and Commercial Infrastructure.
- It supplies the meaning of "infrastructure project" for sections 20A, 20B and 41(ha).
- Item 5(j) uses the definition of "carpet area" in clause (k) of section 2 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.
- The Central Government may amend the Schedule by notification; the text consulted shows none.
Read next
- Section 20A of the Specific Relief Act, 1963: no injunction in infrastructure project contracts
- Sections 20B-20C of the Specific Relief Act, 1963: Special Courts and disposal of suits within twelve months
- Section 41 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963: injunction, when refused
Disclaimer: Based on a consolidated text of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 showing amendments up to the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 (in force from 1 October 2018), as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendments, notifications under the Act and the law of limitation should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.