Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) (Prime Minister's Village Road Scheme) is a national strategy in India to connect unconnected communities to good all-weather road connectivity.
[Of the 178,000 (habitations with a population of more than 500 in the plains and more than 250 in hilly areas planned to be connected by all-weather roads, 82 percent had already been connected by December 2017, and work on the remaining 47,000 habitations was on track to be completed by March 2019].
(c.
December 2017).
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India's then-prime minister, created this Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 2000.
According to the Assam Tribune, the initiative has begun to transform the lives of many villages in Manipur, as it has resulted in the construction of new roads and the upgrading of select inter-village routes.The PMGSY, which is run by the Ministry of Rural Development, began on December 25, 2000.
The federal government is totally funding it.
Following the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations, the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes declared in November 2015 that the initiative would be supported equally by the federal government (60%) and the states (40%).
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Aim of Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana
The goal was to build roads to all of the settlements.
- by 2003, with a population of 1000 or more people
- by 2007 with a population of 500 or more people
- settlements with a population of 500 people or more in hill states, tribal areas, and desert areas by 2003
- settlements having a population of 250 people or more in hill states, tribal areas, and desert areas by 2007.
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Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana: Progress
55 percent (97,838) of the 178,000 (1.7 lakh) habitations with a population of 500 or more in the plains and 250 or more in the hilly areas planned to be connected by all-weather roads were connected by March 2014, 82 percent (80 percent or 131,000 or 1.3 lakh under the PMGSY and 2% or 14,620 under state govt schemes) by December 2017.
Work on the remaining 47,000 is underway, with the exception of 1700, which will be approved by the end of December 2017 and will have 100 percent connectivity by March 2019.
(16 December 2017 update).
The states of Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, as well as the left-wing Naxalite–Maoist extremism-infested state of Chhattisgarh, various areas of Jharkhand, and the Malkangiri region of Odisha, were among those awaiting work.
From 2004 to 2014, the average speed of road construction under the PMGSY was 98.5 kilometres per day, rising to 130 kilometres per day in 2014-17.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has agreed to extend the PM Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) I and PMGSY II programmes until September 2022.
The Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas Road Connectivity Project has also been extended until March 2023.
Impact
Scheme has started to change the lifestyle of many villagers with new roads and upgrades, such as in Manipur.In a research paper, by Asher and Novosad (2020) the effects of the road construction program are described as follows: "Four years after road construction, the main effect of new feeder roads is to facilitate the movement of workers out of agriculture. However, there are no major changes in agricultural outcomes, income, or assets. Employment in village firms expands only slightly. Even with better market connections, remote areas may continue to lack economic opportunities."
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Key Points
- Launched on: 25th December, 2000.
- Objective: To provide connectivity, by way of an all-weather road to unconnected habitations.
- Eligibility: Unconnected habitations of designated population size (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in North-Eastern States, Himalayan States, Deserts and Tribal Areas as per 2001 census) in the core network for uplifting the socio-economic condition of the rural population.
- An Unconnected Habitation is one with a population of designated size located at a distance of at least 500 metres or more (1.5 km of path distance in case of Hills) from an All-weather road or a connected Habitation.
- Core Network: It is that minimal Network of roads (routes) that is essential to provide Basic access to essential social and economic services to all eligible habitations in the selected areas through at least single all-weather road connectivity.
- Latest Funding Pattern: The fund allocation to states has been made in subsequent years commensurate with the value of projects sanctioned to states.
- 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.
- Construction of Rural Roads: The Rural Roads constructed under the PMGSY will be in accordance with the provision of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC).
- IRC is the Apex Body of Highway Engineers in the country.
- The IRC was set up in 1934.
- PMGSY - Phase I
- PMGSY - Phase I was launched in December, 2000 as a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme.
- Under the scheme, 1,35,436 habitations were targeted for providing road connectivity and 3.68 lakh km. for upgradation of existing rural roads in order to ensure full farm to market connectivity.
- PMGSY - Phase II
- The Government of India subsequently launched PMGSY-II in 2013 for upgradation of 50,000 Kms of existing rural road network to improve its overall efficiency.
- While the ongoing PMGSY - I continued, under PMGSY phase II, the roads already built for village connectivity was to be upgraded to enhance rural infrastructure.
- The cost was shared between the centre and the states/UTs.
- PMGSY - Phase III
- Phase III was approved by the Cabinet during July 2019.
- It gives priorities to facilities like:
- Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs)
- GrAMs are retail agricultural markets in close proximity to the farm gate, that promote and service a more efficient transaction of the farmers’ produce.
- Higher Secondary Schools and
- Hospitals.
- Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs)
- Under the PMGSY-III Scheme, it is proposed to consolidate 1,25,000 Km road length in the States. The duration of the scheme is 2019-20 to 2024-25.
- Challenges:
- Lack of dedicated funds.
- Limited involvement of the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
- Inadequate execution and contracting capacity.
- Less working season and difficult terrain particularly in Hill States.
- Scarcity of the construction materials.
- Security concerns particularly in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas.
Way Forward
- Rural Road Connectivity is a key component of Rural Development as it promotes access to economic and social services.
- Further, it helps in generating increased agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities in India.
- In this regard, the government can consider engagement with international financial institutions to construct basic rural infrastructure.
