New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) As many as 1.82 lakh roads measuring a total length of over 7.7 lakh km and 9,199 bridges have been completed till 6th December 2024 at an expenditure of Rs 3.32 lakh crore, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) since the scheme was launched, Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
He also said that the Government of India had approved phase IV of PMGSY in September 2024 to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 unconnected habitations of population size 500+ in plains, 250+ in NE & Hill States/UTs, special category areas (Tribal Schedule V, Aspirational Districts/Blocks, Desert areas) and 100+ in LWE affected districts, as per Census 2011. The PMGSY-IV covers unconnected habitations which have become eligible in view of their population increase as per the census 2011.
The minister said the Government of India, as a part of the poverty reduction strategy, launched the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY-I) on 25th December 2000 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme 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 and some special areas as per 2001 census) in the core network for uplifting the socio-economic condition of the rural population.
In the critical Left Wing Extremism affected blocks, habitations with a population of 100 persons and above as per the 2001 census are also covered.
Various independent evaluation studies, conducted by NITI Aayog, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), World Bank India and International Labour Organization (ILO), on Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), have concluded that it has improved access to education and health care facilities, facilitated employment generation in both farm and non-farm sectors and helped farmers in getting better farm prices, the minister said.
The evaluation of PMGSY, at the national level, by NITI Aayog, in 2020, has specifically mentioned that the scheme is well aligned with India’s International Goals and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as it addresses the issues of poverty, hunger and infrastructure for growth.
Roads constructed under PMGSY have been observed to create a positive impact at both the household and community level.
The roads have been observed to increase access to market and livelihood opportunities, health and education facilities and PMGSY is noted to build the foundations for long-lasting poverty reduction in rural India, the minister cited the NITI Aayog report as saying.
–IANS
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