With most of the States refusing to involve Members of Parliament (MPs) in the process of selection of new roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) in their area, the Centre has made it clear to them that it will not approve the road action plans which are not certified by the elected representatives.
The move follows complaints from several lok Sabha MPs that the States were neither seeking their advice nor keeping them in loop during the process of road selection under the Centrally-sponsored scheme.
Taking serious note of the matter, the Union Rural Development Ministry, which is entrusted with the task of overseeing the PMGSY in the country, has shot off a letter to all the States reminding them that scheme provides key role to the MPs in its implementation including selection of roads.
“Members of lok Sabha are to be consulted in respect of their parliamentary constituency while those from Rajya Sabha have to be involved in respect of the district of the States they represent,” said P Manoj Kumar, Director (Rural Connectivity) in the Ministry in the letter.
To ensure that the States implement the guidelines earnestly, the Ministry has made it mandatory for them to submit certificates detailing the involvement of the consultations with the MPs concerned in the projects related to new roads.
However, this is not the first time that the MPs have complained of being ignored in the PMGSY. The Centre had to intervene in the past too when it found that States were not implementing its order of 2011 that directs the States to invite lS MPs and all elected representatives associated with the programme on the foundation laying and inauguration ceremonies related with the scheme.
In this regard, the Ministry had asked the state government that while sending new projects for approval, digital photograph of the recent foundation laying ceremony or the inauguration of the road by the MP should be enclosed.
The MPs also had to be informed about the inclusion/non-inclusion of their proposals along with the reasons given in each case in the event of non-inclusion.