The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a central government-sponsored scheme, aimed at assisting states in providing all-weather road networks to unconnected rural areas
Enhanced connectivity and accessibility to rural parts of the country, are imperative for the country’s overall economic growth. It paves the way for better distribution of goods and access to services, amenities and employment opportunities, contributing to the socio-economic development of the rural population. In this context, the development of rural roads is a key focus for the government, in the planned development of rural areas. The PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) is a flagship programme of the central government, for the development of rural roads in India.
Recently, Haryana became the first state in the country to complete all the works under Phase-I and Phase-II of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The state planned to build rural roads spanning 1,000 kms under the PMGSY by the end of the financial year 2020-21. Deputy chief minister of Haryana, Dushyant Chautala, had said that the state had received funds for eight districts for laying the roads and approval for the remaining 14 districts was awaited.
About Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
The PMGSY is a central government-sponsored scheme, introduced in December 2000, to assist the states in providing all-weather road networks to unconnected habitations. It was envisaged as a part of a poverty reduction strategy, with plans to set high technical and management standards and facilitate state-level policy development and planning, to ensure sustainable management of rural road networks. The scheme covers only the rural areas and urban roads are excluded from the purview of the PMGSY programme.
PMGSY eligibility
The basic objective of the PMGSY is giving preference to those roads that serve a larger population and provide connectivity to the eligible unconnected habitations with a population (as per Census 2001) of 500 or above in plain areas and 250 or above in the hill states, tribal and desert areas.
PM Gram Sadak Yojana details
- As per the latest data by state governments, under a survey to identify the core network as part of the programme, nearly 1.67 lakh unconnected habitations are eligible for coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana. It covers the construction of roads spanning about 3.71 lakh kms for new connectivity and the upgradation of roads of 3.68 lakh kms.
- A core network is the network of all the rural roads required to provide basic access to social and economic services for all the eligible habitations.
- Under this scheme, only single road connectivity will be provided to a habitation and if the area is already connected by means of an all-weather road, no new work can be taken for that habitation. An all-weather road refers to one that is accessible in all seasons of the year.
- The rural roads developed under the PMGSY will be in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Roads Congress, as given in the Rural Roads Manual.
Works under the rural roads scheme are approved by the Rural Development Ministry, based on the detailed project reports (DPRs) submitted by states.
PMGSY tenders for phase-I
The prime focus under phase-I was developing new connectivity and constructing new roads. Additionally, about 2,25,000 kms of rural roads became eligible for upgradation under phase 1.
PMGSY phase-II
The government had approved the proposal for launching the PMGSY II in 2013. Under phase-II, upgradation of roads spanning 50,000 kms for village connectivity was taken up. Of the total cost of the upgradation, 75% was to be met by the centre and 25% by the states.
PMGSY phase-III
Phase-III of the programme received approval from the union cabinet in July 2019. It focused on widening and revamping roads spanning 1.25 lakh kms across India, thus, improving connectivity to villages, hospitals, schools and rural agricultural markets. A prominent feature was the addition of plastic waste during the development work on these roads. The duration of phase-III was set for 2024-25. The estimated cost of Rs 80,250 crores would be shared between the centre and the states in the ratio of 60:40, while the ratio will be 90:10 for the eight north-eastern and three Himalayan states.
OMMAS PMGSY online
To identify targets and monitor the progress of all the phases of road development, the Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System or OMMAS GIS system has been developed. The system has advanced features like e-payment and detailed reports.
The Ministry of Rural Development has steered an e-governance initiative under the Digital India Programme, by launching a mobile app that enables one to register complaints or share their feedback regarding the work being executed.
PMGSY: Latest news
In 2019, the government said that nearly 97% of all the eligible and feasible habitations had been connected by all-weather roads under the rural roads scheme.
Haryana has completed the construction of 426 roads under phase-I and 88 roads under phase-II, including the construction of 18 bridges. It has received approval from the centre for roads spanning 131 kms in the Sirsa district.
To bolster the road network in the state and improve traffic flow, the Haryana government will spend Rs 383.58 crores towards upgrading 83 roads with a cumulative length of around 688 kms under phase-III. So far, works on 200 kms have been completed and the remaining will be completed by the end of the financial year 2021-22.
Haryana is also coming up with two road projects that include a proposed route from Dabwali to Agra via Jind and another route from Hisar to Kundli-Manesar Palwal via Tosham, Mahendragarh and Rewari. These developments are planned to boost the east-west road connectivity in the state.
Source: https://housing.com/news/pmgsy-pradhan-mantri-gram-sadak-yojana/
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