PMGSY : A Way to Rural Development : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-3: Indian Economy, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Relevance: GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.

Key phrases: PMGSY, CSS, Ease of Access, Rural road connectivity, Integrated Action Plan, Rural Development, Employment generation.

Why in News?

The Centre has proposed to fully fund certain road projects under the PM Grameen Sadak Yojana -- rather than meeting the usual 60% of cost -- in a move aimed at pushing rural jobs.

What is Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana?

PMGSY was launched in 2000 to provide all weather roads, with necessary culverts and cross drainage structures and access to unconnected habitations. The scheme provides road connectivity to all habitations with a population of 250 and above in 11 left-wing extremism-affected districts, known as ‘Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts and to the habitations with a population of 500 and above in non IAP district.
Initially, PMGSY was a 100% centrally sponsored scheme. From 2015-16 onwards, the funding pattern has been revised to 60% Central share and 40% State Share.

Progress in PMGSY:

As on 18.01.2022, a total of 1, 66,798 roads measuring 6, 84,994 km and 6,404 Long Span Bridges have been completed.
World Bank (2019) in an evaluation of the scheme found that PMGSY roads had a positive impact on human capital formation in rural India. Children in middle or high school had 0.7 more years of schooling in 2017; share of babies delivered at home decreased by 30 percent in connected habitations; vaccination among children under the age of four increased by 15 percentage points, with boys and girls benefiting equally.

Significance of PMGSY:

Ease of Access and Ease of Movement: A certain percentage of India is considerably out of touch with reality and development owing to a lack of mobility and access to those areas. Rural road connectivity is a highly essential requisite for rural development. This, in turn, provides access to better socio-economic conditions, enhances the agricultural income as well in order to provide a better standard of living to rural India.
Overall Development: The PMGSY aims to eliminate the lack of accessibility and connectivity through the construction of solid, all-weather resistant roads that allow for easy movement of vehicles and goods. Most rural areas in India have borne the brunt of the lack of focus amongst the planners and authorities which are in charge of providing them with these basic facilities, resulting in them being neglected, for the most part.
With the focus being on the development of connectivity in rural India, it gives these areas hope of development and overall progress.
Better Employment Opportunities: Areas with better connectivity and sturdy roads and other amenities often reap the benefits of enhanced health facilities, employment opportunities, good educational institutions and a better quality of life, overall. Established companies always prefer to set up shop in areas that have great accessibility through well-connected roads and decent facilities.
Considering the fact that the PMGSY aims to enhance the quality of the same in rural India, this presents an opportunity for better employment and enhanced job roles.
Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs) under PMGSY: The current phase (Phase III) of the PMGSY has the consolidation of major rural links, routes and connecting habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets as one of its most important implementation objectives. Gramin Agricultural Markets are retail markets that are within close proximity of farm gates, established with the objective of enhancing the efficiency in the transaction of the produce that is cultivated by the farmers.

Challenges faced by PMGSY:

Lack of dedicated funds: The construction of roads is quite an expensive ordeal. Not only do the authorities require solid funding to construct decent roads, the maintenance and up-keep of those roads don’t come easy either. Irrespective of the fact that the roads are graded as all-weather condition roads, there will still be decay and eventual degradation of these roads as well, which would require regular maintenance.
Central Government’s revenues are already under stress, the availability of adequate funding presents a massive hurdle for the implementation of the PMGSY.
Inefficiency and lack of focus amongst the planners: If the lack of adequate funding wasn’t enough of a cause for worry, to add to it, there are various cases of the planners and the authorities-in-charge not taking the initiative, or in some cases, not taking enough of an interest to ensure that the roads are constructed in a quick and efficient manner. This lack of focus commonly results in wastage of material, thereby exceeding the budget of the project on a regular basis.
Inconsistent working season and tough terrains: Hilly areas and areas with drastic weather conditions often pose a threat to construction and sometimes lead to wastage of material. Transportation of materials to such areas do come with challenges and additional costs involved. Weather conditions tend to rain on parade, thus extending the project way beyond the estimated date. Moreover, the suspension or cessation of the work does affect the durability of the roads in the long run.
Lack of material and manpower necessary for construction: Based on the wastages that occur in almost every project, it is only inevitable that material necessary for construction would be scarce in one form or another. Moreover, labour doesn’t come cheap anymore.
The workers today make calculative decisions on whether to make themselves available for a particular project based on whether it is worth their time. This poses a real problem in terms of material and manpower for construction projects, in general.

Way Forward:

The PMGSY is definitely a good approach towards development of infrastructure in our country. Rural roads are important for both social and economic growth of population living in rural areas. Due to core network connectivity between habitations it is quite helpful for people to avail emergency services from other areas too.
According to World Bank Report 2019, it has improved the socio- economic condition in the rural India.
Further, Govt. of India is endeavouring to set high & uniform technical & management standards & facilitating policy development and planning at State level in order to ensure sustainable management of the rural roads network.

Source: Live Mint

Mains Question:

Q. Discuss the role of PM Gram Sadak Yojana in providing better socio-economic conditions, better standard of living and enhancing the agricultural income in rural India.