New Delhi: The Union Cabinet approved the Rs 70,125-crore Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV (PMGSY-IV) scheme on Wednesday to provide road connectivity to the remotest villages in the country over the next five years.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced 62,500 km of roads to connect 25,000 unconnected habitations — now eligible for the scheme due to population increases.
In July this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the fourth phase of PMGSY-IV in Budget 2024-25. Of the Rs 70,125 crore announced for the scheme, the Centre will pay Rs 49,087 crore and the states the remaining, said rural development ministry officials.
Under the scheme, the government will select habitations with 500-plus population in the plains, 250-plus population in hill states and Union Territories, or 100-plus populations in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas for providing road connectivity.
For PMGSY-IV, the Modi government has decided to use Census 2011 data to identify eligible habitations. “In the previous three schemes (PMGSY I, II and III), which are still ongoing, habitations were selected based on the 2001 Census data,” said a senior official.
Launched under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government in December 2000, the PMGSY is a crucial scheme aimed at assisting states in providing connectivity to rural habitations with a population of 500 or more in plain areas and 250 or more in northeastern and Himalayan states, desert areas, tribal areas, and other remote regions.
In 2013, the Congress-led UPA government launched PMGSY-II, realising the need to consolidate the rural road network to improve transportation services.
In 2019, after coming to power for the second time, the Modi government launched PMGSY-III to upgrade existing rural road infrastructure to provide better connectivity between villages and essential facilities, such as Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), higher secondary schools, and hospitals.
The Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA), launched in 2016 as a separate vertical under PMGSY, focused on constructing and upgrading strategically important roads to provide connectivity to habitations with a population of 100 or more.
Nearly 12,100 km of road has been sanctioned under RCPLWEA across nine states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.
Till now, 7.66 lakh km of rural road network has been developed in the country. Whereas the new scheme will be implemented till 2028-29, the Centre also extended the deadline for implementing PMGSY-I and PMGSY-II — the initial deadline was March 2022 — and the RCPLWEA till March 2025. The deadline for PMGSY-III is March 2025 as well.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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Probably road works in India receive only 50% of the announced money and remaining goes towards corruption.