The Central government has released Rs 483.92 crore to Meghalaya for rural road projects under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in 2021-22.
According to official sources, an amount of Rs 355.29 crore was released by the Centre to the State during 2020-21 for PMGSY road projects.
The road length constructed in 2020-21 was 728.25 kilometres in which seven habitations were connected by road.
Further, an amount of Rs 357 crore was released to the State for PMGSY projects in 2019-20 and an amount of Rs 196.42 crore was released for PMGSY in 2018-19.
As per the online management, monitoring and accounting system, the Centre has sanctioned for construction of 954 new roads in Meghalaya under the PMGSY with a total road length of 3,061.184 kilometres.
Further, 226 will be upgraded in the State with a total length of 1,204.049 kilometres.
There is a three-tiered quality control mechanism for ensuring construction of quality road works and durability of road assets under PMGSY.
Under the first tier, the Programme Implementation Units (PIUs) are required to ensure process control through mandatory tests on material and workmanship at field laboratories.
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 the final stage of construction.
Under the third tier, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are deployed by National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) for random inspection of roads and bridge works to monitor quality and also to provide guidance to the field functionaries.
Thus, completed roads are compulsorily inspected by SQMs, and inspected on sample basis by NQMs.
PMGSY was launched on December 25, 2000 to provide all-weather access to eligible unconnected habitations. The project cost sharing pattern is 90:10 for states of North East states.
The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity, by way of an all-weather road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout the year), to the eligible unconnected habitations in the rural areas with a population of 500 persons and above in Plain areas.
In respect of the Hill States, the Desert Areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme), the Tribal (Schedule V) areas and Selected Tribal and Backward Districts, the objective would be to connect eligible unconnected habitations with a population of 250 persons and above.
Under PMGSY-II, launched in 2013, which envisages upgradation of the existing rural road network to improve its overall efficiency as a provider of transportation services for people, goods and services, the selection of roads in a particular district/ block has been done by the states and union territories based on the utility value of the eligible roads computed on the basis of their economic potential and their role in facilitating the growth of rural market centres and rural hubs.
Under PMGSY-III, launched in 2019, which envisages consolidation of existing Through Routes (TR) and Major Rural Links (MRL) connecting habitations, inter-alia, to agricultural markets, higher secondary schools and hospitals, the selection of roads in a particular district/block is done by the states and union territories based on the utility value of the eligible roads computed on the basis of the population served by the road and market, educational, medical and transport infrastructure facilities connected by the concerned road.
