PMGSY

Relevance

GS 2: Government Policies & Interventions
GS 3: Growth & Development, Inclusive Growth

Introduction

• The government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana on 25th December, 2000 to provide all-weather access to eligible unconnected habitations.
• The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) phase 1 is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• For subsequent phases, the Union Government bears 90% of the project cost in respect of projects sanctioned under the scheme in North-Eastern and Himalayan States, whereas for other states the Union Government bears 60% of the cost.

Key Points

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched as a one-time special intervention to provide rural connectivity, by way of a single all- weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations of designated population size (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in North-Eastern States, Himalayan States and Himalayan Union Territories as per 2001 census) in the core network for uplifting the socio-economic condition of the rural population.
• Relaxation has been provided to the Tribal (Schedule V) areas and Selected Tribal and Backward Districts (as identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Planning Commission) and unconnected habitations in these areas with a population of 250 persons and above in the Core Network as per Census 2001 are eligible for connectivity under the scheme.
• In the critical Left Wing Extremism affected blocks (as identified by Ministry of Home Affairs), additional relaxation has been given to connect habitations with population 100 persons and above as per 2001 census.

Phases of PMGSY

PMGSY-I

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-I (PMGSY-I) was launched as a one-time special intervention to provide rural connectivity, by way of a single all-weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations of designated population size as per Census 2001.

PMGSY-II

• PMGSY- II was launched in the year 2013, with a target to upgrade 50,000 Kms of the existing rural road network to improve its overall efficiency as a provider of transportation services for people, goods and services.
• PMGSY-II was launched for upgradation of selected Through Routes and Major Rural Links (MRLs) with a target to upgrade 50,000 Km in various States and Union Territories.

RCPLWEA

• In 2016, the Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) for construction/upgradation of strategically important roads was launched as a separate vertical under PMGSY.

PMGSY-III

• In the year 2019, Government launched PMGSY-III for consolidation of 1,25,000 Km Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations, and inter-alia, to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.

Key Features of PMGSY

• Decentralized and evidence based planning.
• Standards and specifications as per Indian Road Congress (IRC) and Rural Roads Manual.
• Dedicated implementation mechanism at central, state and district level.
• Scrutiny of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) at multiple levels.
• Strong IT backbone for monitoring and implementation of the programme.
• Three-tier quality management system.
• An unbroken flow of funds.
• An inbuilt mechanism for consultation with public representatives at planning.
• Selection of roads and monitoring stages, etc.

Mechanism For Quality Control

• There is a three-tiered Quality Control mechanism for ensuring construction of quality road works and durability of road assets under PMGSY.
• Under the first tier, the Programme Implementation Units (PIUs) are required to ensure process control through mandatory tests on material and workmanship at field laboratory.
• The second tier is a structured independent quality monitoring at the State level through State Quality Monitors (SQMs) to ensure that every work is inspected at initial stage, middle stage and final stage of construction.
• Under the third tier, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are deployed by National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) for random inspection of road and bridge works to monitor quality and also to provide guidance to the field functionaries.

Key Challenges

• Issues of land acquisition.
• Forest clearance.
• Poor contracting capacity of states.
• Lack of response to tenders.
• Law and order issues.
• Financial capability of states to release funds.
• Execution capacity of states/ SRRDAs
• For North-Eastern and hill states, some additional issues like adverse climatic conditions, tough terrain, short working season etc. also came in the way which compounded the challenges.

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