Flagship Program. August Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

Transcription

1 Flagship Program August 2015 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25 th December It is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), with the target of connecting through good All-weather roads, every habitation that has a population of more than 1000 within 3 years, 500 by the end of the Tenth Plan. It is under the authority of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and funded by the central government. PMGSY, worked on 1.78 lakhs habitations lacked al-weather connectivity in year Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( 1 )

2 Rural road connectivity is not only a key component in Rural Development (RD), but it also promotes access to economic and social services and thereby generating increased agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities in India. It is also as a result, a key ingredient in ensuring sustainable poverty reduction. In spite of the efforts made, over the years, at state and central levels, through different programmes, many habitations in the country are still not connected by all-weather roads. It is well known that, even where connectivity has been connected, the roads constructed are of such quality (due to poor construction or maintenance) that they cannot, always be categorized as All weather roads. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25 th December It is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), with the target of connecting through good All-weather roads, every habitation that has a population of more than 1000 within 3 years, 500 by the end of the Tenth Plan. It is under the authority of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and funded by the central government. PMGSY, worked on 1.78 lakhs habitations lacked al-weather connectivity in year According, to figures made available by the state governments as a result of a survey to identify the core network, about 1.70 lakhs Unconnected Habitations (UH) need to be connected, under the PMGSY. This includes 59,890 UH with populations of over 1000 persons, 81,510 habitations having population between and 29,710 habitations having populations of persons. Vision & Mission: Sustainable and inclusive growth of rural India through all-weather roads and access to rural eligible habitations to improve their livelihood opportunities, including farm to market connectivity and quality of life bringing them in the main stream of socio-economic activities. Objectives: Providing all weather connectivity to all habitations having population of 500 (Census 2001) or more in plain areas. 250 persons (Census 2001) and above of the Hill State (North East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal), Tribal (Schedule V) areas, the Desert Areas (as Identified in Desert Development Programme) and in the Left Wing Extremism affected (LWE)/Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts as identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA)/ Planning Commission (PC) Upgradation of existing through routes and major rural link routes to ensure full farm to market connectivity. The objective was improving the lives of the local villagers in terms of agriculture, employment, education, health etc. Features: Farm to market connectivity with full road. Funding of construction to roads cost by the Central Government. Maintenance funding by State Government for roads. Implementation responsibility with the States for roads. National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) for technical and operational management support. Dedicated implementing apparatus at State and District level. Ensuring quality standards in constructions. Five year maintenance with same contractor. Funding allocation: Once the core network is prepared, it is possible to estimate the length of roads for new connectivity, as well as upgradation for every district. States may, each year, distribute the state s allocation among the district giving 80% on the basis of road length required for providing connectivity to UH and 20% on the basis of road length requiring upgradation under the PMGSY. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( 2 )

3 district wise allocation of funds, would also be communicated to the Ministry / NRRDA / and STA, every year by the state government. Allocation for the year under PMGSY is Rs. 21,700 crore. A total of 3,99,979 km road length has been completed and new connectivity has been provided to over 97,838 habitations up to March During , 25,316 km of all-weather road including new connectivity to 6560 habitations has been completed at an expenditure of 13,095 crore. Cost analysis new road and upgradation per 1 km. under PMGSY: According to latest figures made available by the State Governments under a survey to identify Core Network as part of the PMGSY programme, about 1.67 lakh Unconnected Habitations are eligible for coverage under the programme. This involves construction of about 3.71 lakh km. of roads for New Connectivity and 3.68 lakh km. under upgradation. Mechanism: There are three tier quality assurance mechanism monitoring systems for PMGSY programme. The first tier comprise PIU (Project Implementation Unit) The second tier comprise periodic inspection by the State Quality Control Monitor (SQMs), appointed by the Nodal Agency for independent monitoring at state level. The third tier comprise National Quality Monitors (NQMs) appointed by the NRRDA for independent monitoring of quality at National level. Implementation of the PMGSY Programme: Technical and managerial support in the implementation of the PMGSY programme, National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA) was established by the Ministry in In state level established State Rural Roads Development Agency (SRRDA). Each State Government / UT administration would identify one or two suitable agencies (having a presence in all the Districts and with established competence in executing timebound programme), to be designated as Executive Agencies (EA). At the district level, the programme will be planned, coordinated, and entirely implemented through the Executing Agencies. A Programme Implementation Unit (PIU), entirely directed towards the programme, will be set up all the District Concerned. All PIUs will be manned by competent technical personnel from amongst the available staff or through deputations and no new posts will be created for the purpose. The state governments will establish suitable linkages in this behalf, with the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs). Funds would be released to the concerned DRDAs. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( 3 )

4 Monitoring: Effective monitoring of Programme is critical and the state governments will ensure that the officials are prompt in sending the requisite reports / information to the SRRDA, as well as the NRRDA. The On-line Management & Monitoring System (OMMS) will be the chief mechanism for monitoring the programme. To this end, the officials are required to furnish, On-line, all the data and information, as may be prescribed by the NRRDA from time to time, in the relevant module of OMMS. They shall be responsible for uninterrupted maintenance of the Computer Hardware and Software, as well as the Internet connectivity. The software for the OMMS shall be supplied by the NRRDA and it shall not be modified at any level in the State; any requirement or suggestion for change shall be intimated to the NRRDA. The state government should provide necessary manpower, space and facilities to set up computer hardware at the District and State Level. Since, the data would reside on the state servers, the state level agency, must ensure that the state server is functional all through 24 hours. It shall be the responsibility of the Executive Engineer (EE) / Head of the PIU to ensure effective up-time and Internet connectivity of the computers at the PIU / district level. He shall be responsible for ensuring placement of all master data, including the Rural Roads Plan (RRP) in the database and for the constant updating and accuracy of data relating to the progress of road works, record of quality control tests as well as the payments made. In case, of continued failure to update data on the OMMS, further releases to the state / district concerned could be affected. Each state government would identify one officer of sufficient seniority and having adequate knowledge of Information Technology (IT) to function as state IT nodal officer. His/ her function will be to oversee the regularity and accuracy of the data, being furnished by the districts. The IT Nodal Officer (NO), who shall form part of the SRRDA, shall also be responsible to oversee the upkeep of hardware and software, as well as the computer training requirements of the personnel dealing with the PMGSY. The district vigilance and monitoring committee set up by the Ministry and it will also monitor the progress and exercise vigilance in respect of PMGSY. Inspection of PMGSY works by public representatives: State Governments have been advised to arrange joint inspection of ongoing as well as completed works under PMGSY by MPs, MLAs and functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The arrangements of joint inspection are as under:- The Superintending Engineer concerned of the zone/region will request MP/MLA and Zilla Chairperson (ZC) representing that zone/region, once in six months to select any PMGSY project(s) for joint inspection. The schedule of joint inspection will be fixed, as per the convenience of MP/MLA/Zilla Chairperson. The Executive Engineer (EE) in-charge of a division will request MLA/Chairperson of the intermediate panchayat, concerned once in three months for joint inspection of any PMGSY project(s) as per their choice and according to their convenience. Similarly, the Assistant Engineer (AE) in-charge of the sub-division will request, the concerned Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat (GP), once in two months to select any PMGSY project(s) for joint inspection. Joint inspection of the project(s), may be arranged as per their convenience. Community Participation: As per 73 rd Amendment Act 1992, Constitution provides for role for local elected bodies (Panchayats) in developmental activities including roads. District panchayat approves core network. District panchayats approves selection of roads out of core network for annual proposals. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( 4 )

5 Village panchayat participates in transact walk to finalize road alignment. Panchayats are being involved in road safety and maintenance activities and role still evolving as 12 Finance Commission has recommended huge block grants to panchayats. Connectivity targets under PMGSY: So far, 1,68,268 habitations were eligible for coverage under the programme, out of which 31,804 habitations, had been reported either connected under other schemes or not feasible. Therefore, 1,3,464 habitations were targeted for providing road connectivity under PMGSY. PMGSY now targets include connecting up to 178,000 habitations, involving construction of about 375,000 km of roads in addition to upgrading 372,000 km of existing rural roads, that are in poor condition. This entails expenditures of about Rs billion (US $ 33 billion). Construction of Roads: There are two types of PMGSY road construction work: 1. Construction of a new road. 2. Up-gradation of existing road. New constructions involve construction of a flexible or a rigid pavement over existing track or certain embankment. Up-gradations involve strengthening of existing pavement due to either damages because of traffic or other natural causes. Generally, existing BT surface is re-laid after about 5 to 7 years depending on traffic and climate conditions. Time period allowed for completion of projects: PMGSY is being implemented in accordance with the programme guidelines. In plain areas, the projects are to be completed within a period of nine working months from the date of issue of the work order. In case the period for execution is likely to be adversely affected by monsoon or other seasonal factors, the time period for execution is extended up to 12 calendar months. Where a package comprises more than one road work, the total time given for completion of the package is 12 months. In respect of hilly states, where the work is executed in two stages, this time period will apply separately in respect of each stage. Time period for completion of projects under PMGSY has recently been modified. The time limit up to 18 calendar months has been permitted for completion of hill roads (in hill states). Similarly, time period of months has been permitted for completion of cross drainage works exceeding 25 meter length, depending on site conditions. Maintenance of Rural Roads: The Rural Roads (RR) constructed/upgraded under this programme will be maintained by the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) (district panchayat/intermediate panchayat). The concerned PRIs would need to be identified while, submitting the project for approval and the state authorities will be required to furnish an undertaking that they would remit (to the identified PRI), from the state government funds, the requisite cost of maintenance. The state government will also offer an undertaking for the release of maintenance costs, along with their project proposals. The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) would oversee the implementation of this undertaking. Efforts will be made to involve local people s participation towards maintenance of Rural Roads (RR). Suitable mechanisms and procedures will be evolved, by the state governments in consultation with MoRD. Problems: Generally, delay in road construction work. Lack of suppliers and eligible contractors. Monsoon and geographical problems (Rainy season/summer). Lack of engineers and specialists for construction roads. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( 5 )

6 Shortage of skilled and local works and labours. Dramatically increased raw material rate. Difficulty in availability of land for road construction Untimely payments to contractors and labours by PMGSY. Challenges: Some major states lack adequate implementation capacity. As new connectivity targets are connected in few states, there is inadequate contracting capacity. Delays in awarding tender in Selected Tribal (ST) and Backward Districts (under Integrated Action Plan (IAP)). Non availability of land including, land falls under forest areas (delay in forest clearances). Suggestions: The rules and regulations for selection of habitation must be followed strictly without any partial behavior by the Government or politician. License of contractors should be cancelled, if they do not complete their work on time. Labourers must be appointed on yearly or half yearly basis. To make our environment healthy and green, the tree plantation work should be done on both sides of roads. There must be a regular supervision and monitoring of the rural road works to overcome from corruption. Achievements: PMGSY Achievements are given below in table: PMGSY - Achievements Activity Total Eligible Projects Cleared Achievement Habitations (in Nos.) 1,78,184 1, 45,979 (82%) 97,838 of eligible (55%) New Connectivity (km.) 3,67,673 3, 45,159 (94%) 2,48,919 of eligible (68%) Up-gradation (km.) 3,74,844 1,83,340 (82%) 1,51,060 (67%) 2,24,906 Up-gradation Up-gradation 1,49,938 Renewal The phase wise approach to cover all habitations across the country has been taken up. After construction of PMGSY roads, there have been improved situations in terms of increased market access for farmers in rural areas, increased job opportunities to unemployed people and self-employment also. The accessibility to health care in rural, tribal and coastal areas has significantly improved. Educational facilities have seen improvement due to accessibility in transport services. The need of the hour is to see that central and state governments should be transparent and select correct appropriate contractors to implement the programme successfully in remote areas. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( 6 )