Question : PMGSY in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan

(a) whether the Government proposes to cover small towns having population less than the norms under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY);

(b) if so, the details of the norms fixed in this regard;

(c) whether the roads left out under the said yojana in Uttar Pradesh including Phulpur Parliamentary Constituency in Prayagraj district and Rajasthan including Banswara-Dungapur have been reviewed and if so, the status thereof;

(d) the details of the steps taken to construct quality roads under the said yojana; and

(e) the details of the plan to repair/reconstruct five years old roads constructed under the said yojana?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a) & (b) As per programme guidelines, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) covers only the rural areas. There is no proposal to relax the norms for eligibility and cover small towns under the scheme.

(c) The status of implementation of various verticals of PMGSY in the Prayagraj (Allahabad) district of Uttar Pradesh and Banswara and Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan is given below:-

Prayagraj

Road length in Km

Name of vertical Sanctioned Completed Balance*

PMGSY-I 874 870 0

PMGSY-II 116 116 0

PMGSY-III 467 104 363

Total 1,457 1,090 363

Banswara

Road length in Km

Name of vertical Sanctioned Completed Balance*

PMGSY-I 2,680 2,654 0

PMGSY-II 112 112 0

PMGSY-III 94 90 0

Total 2,886 2,856 0



Dungarpur

Road length in Km
Name of vertical Sanctioned Completed Balance*

PMGSY-I 2,820 2,692 0

PMGSY-II 73 73 0

PMGSY-III 210 206 4

Total 3,103 2,971 4

*Balance road length can be less than the difference of sanctioned and completed length due to the reasons that some projects were completed with less than the sanctioned length due to reduction in road length, change in alignment, construction of part length by other agencies, etc.

(d) Rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) are constructed and maintained as per the technical specifications and geometric design standards given in the Ministry of Rural Development Specifications for Rural Roads, Rural Roads Manual of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) (IRC-SP:20) and also, where required, the Hill Road Manual (IRC:SP:48) and other relevant IRC Codes & Manuals.

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 NRIDA for random inspection of road and bridge works to monitor quality and also to provide guidance to the field functionaries.

(e) Maintenance of roads constructed under the programme is the responsibility of the State Governments and all road works are covered by initial five year maintenance contracts to be entered into along with the construction contract, with the same contractor, as per the Standard Bidding Document. Maintenance funds to service the contract are required to be budgeted by the State Governments and placed at the disposal of the State Rural Roads Development Agencies (SRRDAs) in a separate maintenance account. On expiry of the 5 year post construction maintenance, PMGSY roads are required to be placed under Zonal maintenance contracts consisting of 5 year maintenance including renewal as per maintenance cycle, from time to time, which are also financed by the state governments.

As per the programme guidelines of PMGY-III, no roads can be taken up under PMGSY-III before completion of 10 years of design life.

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