(a) whether cases of violation of norms for construction of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) has come to the notice of the Government;
(b) if so, the number of cases against the officials and contractors that have come to light along with the action taken thereon, State/UT-wise;
(c) whether any measures have been taken to promote transparency in the said scheme and enable its monitoring; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI BIRENDER SINGH)
(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 233 due for answer on 12th March, 2015
(a)& (b): Complaints about various irregularities including violation of norms and sub-standard works under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) are received in the Ministry from time to time. In respect of complaints regarding sub-standard roads being constructed under PMGSY, matter is referred to the State Quality Coordinators of respective States for taking necessary action as ensuring the quality of construction of PMGSY roads is the responsibility of implementing State Governments. In case, an adequate response is not received within the stated time schedule, the National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA) deputes National Quality Monitors (NQM) and further decisions are taken on the basis of NQM reports.
(c) & (d): PMGSY envisages a three tier Quality Assurance Mechanism to ensure quality of road works during construction. First-tier of this mechanism is in-house quality control at Programme Implementation Unit (PIU) level. Second-tier is structured as an independent quality monitoring at State level through State Quality Monitors (SQMs) in which provision of regular inspection of PMGSY works has been envisaged. The third-tier is an independent monitoring mechanism at the Central level. Under this tier, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are engaged for inspections of PMGSY roads, selected at random. To promote transparency in the Scheme, it is being ensured that independent monitors at the second and the third tier take at least 10 digital photographs at the work site including one of the field laboratories, for each road work inspected and upload the inspection reports on PMGSY programme management & monitoring website i.e. OMMAS, to facilitate public viewing of quality of road works being executed under the programme. Also the abstract of the said Inspection Report is also uploaded on website.
Further, to promote transparency and effective monitoring, the Superintending Engineer concerned of the zone/region has been asked to request the concerned Member of Parliament and Zilla Panchayat Pramukh representing the zone/region, once in six months, to select any PMGSY project(s) for joint inspection. Similarly, the Executive Engineer in-charge of a division has been asked to request the MLA/ Chairperson of the Intermediate Panchayat concerned, once in three months for joint inspection and the Assistant Engineer in-charge of the sub-division has been asked to request the concerned Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat once in two months to select any PMGSY project(s) for joint inspection.