​ Over 4 lakh km roads constructed under PMGSY

NEW DELHI: More than 4.81 lakh km of roads connecting 1.192 lakh habitations across the country were constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) till June 30, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Since the inception (of the scheme), the ministry has released Rs 1.39 lakh crore and states have reported expenditure to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore till June 30, Minister of State for Rural Development Ram Kripal Yadav said in a written reply.

Out of 1.83 lakh eligible habitations, the Ministry of Rural Development has given clearance for connecting 1.51 lakh habitations and states have reported that 1.19 lakh habitations have been connected by constructing or upgrading 4.813 lakh km road as on June 30, he said.

Rural roads is a state subject and PMGSY is a one-time special intervention of the government to provide rural connectivity, by way of single all-weather road to the eligible unconnected habitations in the core network.

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 and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

Besides this, the habitations having population of 100 and above, identified by Home Ministry as crucial are also covered under this scheme.

The government has also launched the second phase of PMGSY-II which envisages consolidation of the existing rural road network to improve its overall efficiency.