Modi Govt’s Rural Roads Scheme Enters Third Phase But Many States Yet To Meet Past Targets theprint.in

The Narendra Modi government has rolled out the third phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), but many states and union territories are still lagging behind the targets set in the earlier phases of the programme, ThePrint has learnt.

While most of the states with a sluggish rate of road construction under PMGSY are in the Northeast, rural road construction has been progressing at a snail’s pace in Jammu and Kashmir too.Launched by Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Wednesday, the third phase of the rural road programme, aimed at bringing India’s villages closer to hospitals, markets and schools, will build 1.25 lakh km of arterial roads across India.

Around Rs 80,000 crore will be allocated for this project from 2019-20 to 2024-25, of which the central share will be Rs 53,000 crore. The funding for PMGSY-III is shared in the ratio of 60:40, between the centre and the state. For the Northeast and Himalayan states, the ratio is 90:10.