The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the launch of the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to improve road linkages in rural areas for faster movement to facilities such as Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), schools and hospitals at an estimated cost of Rs 80,250 crore. It entails consolidation of 1,25,000 km of roads in six years.
Talking to reporters, Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that 97 per cent of work had been completed in the PMGSY first phase launched in 2000 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and more than 50 per cent in the second phase.
He said states will be told to make maximum use of plastic waste in road construction and the scheme will be implemented with immediate effect in some states including Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana.
The first phase should have been completed by 2008 but there was a delay and work picked up pace after Narendra Modi government came to power, he said.
An official release said that selection of roads will be made on parameters such as population served and connections to market, educational and medical facilities.
It said the project entails construction of bridges up to 150m in plain areas and 200m in Himalayan and northeastern states as against the existing provisions of 75m and 100m, respectively.
The states shall be asked to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) so as to ensure adequate funds for maintenance of roads constructed for five years. Of the estimated cost of Rs 80,250 crore, the central share is Rs. 53,800 crore and the state share is Rs 26,450 crore. The project period is from 2019-20 to 2024-25.
The release said that 5,99,090 km of roads have been constructed under the scheme since inception till April 2019 (inclusive of PMGSY-I, PMGSY-II, and RCPLWEA (road construction project on Left-wing extremism area) scheme.
The government launched RCPLWEA in 2016 as a separate vertical under PMGSY to provide all-weather road connectivity with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures in 44 districts (35 worst LWE affected districts and nine adjoining districts), which are critical from security and communication point of view. Under the Scheme, 5,066 km road length has been sanctioned, the release said.
( With inputs from ANI )