Under the central sponsored scheme, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the pace of construction of rural roads has jumped to an average of 117 kms from 97.29 kms per day last year, leading to laying of about 10,500 kms of roads in the first quarter of 2017-18.
According to the Union Rural Development Ministry which oversees the PMGSY, the target is to construct 57,000 kms of roads in 2017-18, at an average rate of 156 kms per day to provide connectivity to 16,600 habitations.
“In the first quarter of the financial year 2017-18, 10,556 km PMGSY roads have been constructed, clocking an average of 117.28 km per day,” the Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The rate of construction was 97.29 km per day in the same period last year.
The progress in terms of length constructed in the present financial year is 18.51 per cent of the total annual target. “The present rate of construction would further accelerate from October, 2017 to March, 2018. Hence, there is every reason to believe that the annual targets will be met with a strong probability of achievement exceeding the targets,” said the Ministry.
PMGSY aims to connect more than 1.78 lakh habitations across the country out of which projects relating to about 1.61 lakh habitations have already been sanctioned and 1.29 lakh habitations have been connected till June this year, it added.
The rural roads scheme is being implemented across the country, particularly in states having deficit of roads such as Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
The ministry said PMGSY was focusing on the use of non- conventional construction materials such as cold mix, waste plastic, fly ash, jute and coir geo-textiles among others.
The target for use of such materials and technologies during 2017-18 is 10,082 kms. Against this target, in the first quarter of the financial year till June, 2018, 1,235.22 kms have been constructed. The States which are doing particularly well in this field are Rajasthan (381 kms), Punjab (181 kms), Odisha (131.38 kms), Madhya Pradesh (116.07 kms) and Tamil Nadu (102 kms), said the Ministry.