Question : Rural Road Connectivity

(a) the details of total number of villages in the country which have not been connected by all weather roads so far, State/ UT-wise;

(b) the number of villages connected by roads during the last two years along with the funds allocated and utilized thereon, State/UT-wise;

(c) the time by which all the villages are targeted to be connected by roads during the said period and the funds likely to be spent for the purpose, State/UT-wise; and

(d) whether the Government decided to enhance funding for the same and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the objective to provide single all-weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected habitations, existing in the Core Network, in rural areas of country. The programme envisages connecting all eligible unconnected habitations with a population of 500 persons and above (as per 2001 Census) in plain areas and 250 persons and above (as per 2001 Census) in Special Category States (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttrakhand), Tribal (Schedule-V) areas, the Desert Areas (as identified in Desert Development Programme) and in Selected Tribal and Backward Districts (as identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs/Planning Commission). The PMGSY permits upgradation (to prescribed standards) of existing rural roads in districts where all the eligible habitations of the designated population size have been provided single all weather road connectivity. For most intensive IAP blocks as identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs the unconnected habitations with population 100 and above (as per 2001 census) would be eligible to be covered under PMGSY.

Under PMGSY, the unit of programme is a habitation and not a revenue village. A habitation is a cluster of population, living in an area, the location of which does not change over time. Desam, Dhanis, Tolas, Majras, Hamlets, etc., are commonly used terminology to describe the Habitations. State/UT-wise details of habitations which are yet to be connected under PMGSY (upto June, 2016) are at Annexure-I.

Year-wise and State/UT-wise details of habitations connected, funds allocated & utilized under PMGSY are at Annexure-II & III, respectively.

For accelerated execution of PMGSY, the Ministry of Rural Development in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and the State governments, has formulated an Action Plan to achieve the target of the Scheme early, with enhanced financial allocation to the States and modified funding pattern in the Scheme. The fund sharing pattern of PMGSY has been made in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and States for all States except for 8 North Eastern and 3 Himalayan States for which it will be 90:10. In view of the availability of substantial additional funds under the Scheme with the new funding pattern between Centre and the State and enhanced allocation by the Government of India, all the States have been asked to get approval for sanctions of balance works under PMGSY-I/II as per the mandate of the Scheme and to substantially complete them by March, 2019, so as to provide connectivity to target habitations. In order to accelerate the implementation and ensure time bound completion of the Scheme in the States, the Government has decided to provide substantial enhancement of allocation for PMGSY during the year 2015-16, making the total Annual Allocation of the States to Rs.23,806 crore (Rs 15,175.71 crore – Central Share and Rs. 8,631 crore- Matching State Share. The Budget Estimate (BE) for 2016-17 is Rs.19,000 crore and an additional State share of Rs.9,151 crore would come from the State. With the changed sharing pattern, the total annual financial inflows in this programme would be substantial.