• India and the World Bank recently signed a $500-million loan agreement to provide additional funding for the centre’s flagship rural roads programme, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
• Government has signed US $500 million loan agreement with World Bank to provide additional financing for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) rural road projects. The loan has maturity of 10 years along with 3 year grace period. It will provide additional financing for PMGSY Rural Roads Project to build 7,000 km of climate resilient roads, out of which 3,500 km will be constructed using green technologies.

PMGSY:-

• PMGSY is fully funded centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2000.
• It aims to provide single all-weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected habitations in the rural areas with population of 500  persons  and  above  (in plain areas) and 250 persons and above (in Hilly States , desert Areas,  Tribal   areas   and   selected Tribal and Backward Districts). Union Ministry of Rural Development is nodal ministry for implementation of Scheme.
• For this scheme, 75  paise  per  litre  has  been  earmarked out  of  cess  levied on high speed diesel. It considers habitation as unit for providing connectivity and not a revenue village. The scheme encourages use of “Green Technologies” and non-conventional materials for constructing rural roads.
• Under PMGSY, the government aims to construct 7,000km of climate-resilient roads. Out of this, 3,500km will be built using green technologies.

Success:-

• Roads are primary to any development agenda. PMGSY, since its inception in 2000, has been able to provide connectivity to 1,52,124 habitations (85.37% against 1,78,184 eligible habitations). Sensing the importance and urgency of rural roads for national development the target date for completion of PMGSY-I has been preponed from 2022 to 2019.
• The PMGSY over the years has brought about a paradigm shift in the way rural roads are mapped, designed, monitored and built, involving communities, especially women.
• The PMGSY and the world Bank’s involvement under this additional financing, will emphasize on managing the rural road network through green and climate-resilient construction using green, low-carbon designs and new technologies far beyond merely funding civil works.
  • Use of non-conventional, locally available construction materials and “Green Technologies” have been encouraged for climate resilient roads in PMGSY. There has been wide acceptability of these technologies. During the financial year 2017-18, a record length of 6,313 kms has been constructed using green technologies.
• The Additional Financing will also fill the gender gap by creating employment opportunities for women in construction and maintenance.
• The additional finance will bring a new shift in construction technology using green and low-carbon designs and climate-resilient techniques. Now, more rural communities will have access to better economic opportunities and social services. This new project will demonstrate how climate-resilient construction can be integrated in the strategy and planning of rural roads.
• Success in states:-
  • Its implementation in states having a historical deficit of rural roads is staggering for its scope and size.
  • The pace of construction of PMGSY roads reached a seven-year high of 130 km per day in 2016-17 as against an average of 73 km during the period 2011 to 2014.
  • Not only has it ensured connectivity for perishable commodities, but helped ramp up productivity and wider distribution, primarily due to economies of scale. 
• PMGSY not only strives to build roads but good quality roads. The in-built frame work of Quality Management mechanism in PMGSY is a combination of in-house quality control measures and independent verification at state and national levels.
  • The scheme also ensures climate vulnerability assessment during the design process to identify the critical locations affected by natural hazards, special treatment for flood-affected areas through adequate waterways and submersible roads to allow easy passage of water and improved drainage
  • It also uses innovative bridge and culverts through use of prefabricated units build roads and bridges having better ability to bit and earthquakes and water sources etc.
• Transparency
  • As a measure of Transparency and Accountability, the scheme has put in place a Citizen Feedback system through the MeriSadak App. This provides a direct interface with the citizens and this G2C platform enables citizens to provide real time feedback on the implementation of the PMGSY programme.
• Community Contracting initiative in Rural Roads:-
  • Maintenance software eMarg used in MP will be replicated in all states to streamline maintenance systems of rural roads.
• Use of IT:-
  • Satellite imagery is being used to verify the completion of road length being reported by States on the programme software i.e. OMMAS as well as to verify habitation connectivity. 

Issues:-

• Maintenance of the existing 4.6 million km of the road network is emerging as a major challenge in India
• Many parts of the existing road network are either vulnerable to or have already suffered damage from climate-induced events such as floods, high rainfall, sudden cloud bursts and land-slides.

Conclusion:-

• To support the rural economy and communities and households that depend on rural livelihoods, it will be critical to ensure that infrastructure is built and maintained to withstand climatic changes.