(a) whether the Government has received any complaints regarding the use of substandard materials used in the construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) from various States during the last three years and the current year;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
(c) whether any inquiry has been conducted in this regard; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI RAM KRIPAL YADAV)
(a) to (d): Complaints related to various facets of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) including that of use of substandard materials in construction of roads are received from time to time. As per Programme Guidelines, ensuring the quality of road works is the responsibility of the State Government, who are implementing the programme. A three-tier Quality Control mechanism is envisaged under the programme. 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 the construction. Under the third tier, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are deployed for random inspection of road works to monitor quality and also to provide guidance of senior professionals to the field functionaries. Based on the periodic monitoring of quality of roads under the 3-tier mechanism, corrective measures, wherever necessary, are taken by the State Governments.
A Statement indicating complaints received and action taken during the years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 (upto Nov, 2018), State-wise is given at Annexure. When a project is reported as “Unsatisfactory” (U) due to structural defects or “Satisfactory – Requiring Improvement” (SRI) by NQMs due to non-structural defects, the State Government concerned is notified about these defects. The State Government is required to carry out necessary rectifications and send the detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) to the Ministry/NRIDA, after the ground verification carried out through the State Quality Monitors (SQM). The ATR received at NRIDA is examined and if found Satisfactory, the quality grading of the project is upgraded to the “Satisfactory” Work Quality.
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