Parliament Question: All-Weather Roads under PMGSY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 605 ANSWERED ON 03/02/2026 ALL-WEATHER ROADS UNDER PMGSY 605. Shri Malaiyarasan D: Shri Tharaniventhan M S: Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details and features of the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) including its objectives and scope of providing all-weather road connectivity to villages of the country, State-wise especially in Kallakurichi and AraniLokSabha Constituencies of Tamil Nadu; (b) the number of villages lacking all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY and the timeline by which these gaps are expected to be addressed, State-wise including Tamil Nadu; (c) the details of funds sanctioned, allocated and utilized under the said scheme, State-wise including Tamil Nadu during the last three to five years especially in Kallakurichi and AraniLokSabha Constituencies; (d) the steps taken by the Government to ensure the quality and durability of PMGSY roads especially in flood-prone, remote and tribal areas, State-wise including Tamil Nadu particularly in AraniLokSabha Constituency; (e) whether the Government is conducting independent quality audits of roads built under PMGSY, if so, the key findings of such audits; (f) the manner in which the Government is ensuring that PMGSY roads are inclusive and accessible to remote tribal areas, flood-prone zones and border regions especially in Kallakurichi and AraniLokSabha Constituencies; and (g) the measures being taken to ensure that PMGSY roads are inclusive, safe and accessible for all including women, the elderly and persons with disabilities in all States including Tamil Nadu? Page 1 of 10ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN) (a)&(b): Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) was launched as a one-time special intervention to provide rural connectivity, by way of a single all-weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations of designated population size (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in North-Eastern States, Himalayan States, Desert and Tribal Areas as per 2001 census) in the core network for uplifting the socio-economic condition of the rural population. In the critical Left Wing Extremism affected blocks (as identified by Ministry of Home Affairs), additional relaxation has been given to connect habitations with population of 100 persons and above (2001 census). As the programme unfolded, a need was felt for consolidation of the existing rural road Network to improve its efficiency not only as a provider of transportation services but also as a vehicle for social and economic development. Accordingly, in the year 2013, PMGSY-II was launched for upgradation of selected through Routes and Major Rural Link with a target to upgrade 50,000 km in various states and Union Territories. In the year 2019, Government launched PMGSY-III for consolidation of 1,25,000 km Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting inter-alia, to Gramin Agriculture Market(GrAMs), higher secondary Schools and Hospitals. In the year 2024, the Government has launched PMGSY-IV to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 unconnected rural habitations of population size 500+ in plains, 250+ in NE & Hill Sates/UTs, special category areas (Tribal Schedule V, Aspirational Districts/Blocks, Desert areas) and 100+ in LWE affected districts, as per Census 2011. The timeline for completion of PMGSY-IV is March 2029. These habitations have become eligible due to their population increase. The unit for connectivity under PMGSY-I is ‘Habitation’ and not a Revenue Village or Gram Panchayat or hamlet. The Ministry of Rural Development, through PMGSY-I has been steadily working towards achieving universal all-weather road connectivity to all eligible rural habitations across the country, including Tamil Nadu. As on 28.01.2026, PMGSY-I achieved near- universal coverage, with only 541 habitations remaining unconnected, out of 1,63,288 identified eligible habitations nationwide. In the State of Tamil Nadu, all 1,985 eligible habitations Page 2 of 10have already been provided with all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY-I. The State/UT-wise numbers of habitations connected under PMGSY-I are given at Annexure-I. Salient Features of PMGSY  Decentralized, evidence based planning  Standards and specifications as per Indian Road Congress (IRC) and Rural Roads Manual  Dedicated Implementation Mechanism: National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA), State Rural Road Development Agency (SRRDA) and Project Implementation Units (PIUs)  Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) scrutiny by State Technical Agencies, Principal Technical Agencies and NRIDA  Strong IT backbone for monitoring and implementation (Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS), Government e-Procurement System of NIC (GEPNIC), Electronic Maintenance of Rural Roads under PMGSY (eMARG), Geographic Information System (GIS) applications)  Three-tier Quality Management System  Grievance Redressal Mechanism (MeriSadak App)  Unbroken flow of funds  5 year inbuilt maintenance included with performance guarantee of contractor Parliamentary constituency-wise data is not maintained in the Ministry. As per the report shared by the State there are no unconnected habitations in Kallakurichi and AraniLokSabha Constituency. The State/UT wise (including Tamil Nadu) details of habitations survey conducted under PMGSY-IV are given at Annexure-II. The sunset date for PMGSY-IV is March 2029. (c): The allocation/release of funds to the States for implementation of PMGSY is done on the basis of the proposal received from the State and depends, inter-alia, on works in hand, execution capacity of the State and unspent funds available with it. The details of Central share released to the States/UTs and expenditure incurred (including State share) during last five years are given in Annexure-III. Parliamentary constituency-wise data is not maintained within the Ministry. As reported by the State, the details of funds allocated, released and expenditure incurred in Page 3 of 10respect of Kallakurichi Constituency and Arani Constituency during the last five years are as below: Constituency Allocation Released Expenditure (Rs.in crore) (Rs.in crore) (Rs.in crore) Kallakurichi 256.01 250.92 223.76 Arani 263.16 263.16 199.12 (d)&(e): To ensure the quality and durability of PMGSY roads especially in flood-prone, remote and tribal areas, a three-tier Quality Management mechanism has been put in place under PMGSY:  The 1st tier of quality management mechanism is the in-house quality control system of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU).  The 2nd tier of the quality management mechanism is through periodical inspections of all works by the State Quality monitors (SQMs), independent of PIUs.  Under the 3rd tier, National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency deploys National Quality Monitors (NQMs), for inspection of road works, selected at random, to assess the general quality in the district/ State. Periodic quality inspections by independent monitors under 2nd and 3rd tier of quality control mechanism are conducted. A well defined Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System is used for monitoring quality of PMGSY projects assessed by these independent quality monitors that helps in real time monitoring and brings transparency in ensuring the quality infrastructure in rural areas. The State-wise details of quality inspections conducted by NQMs and SQMs and unsatisfactory grading marked by them for period during 2024-25 and 2025-26 (till 28.01.2026) are given in Annexure-IV. (f)&(g): PMGSY-I was launched by the Government of India, as a part of the poverty reduction strategy, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to assist the states, though 'Rural Roads' is a State Subject. PMGSY is an area development programme and the objective of the scheme is to provide all-weather road connectivity Page 4 of 10in rural areas catering to the access needs of the entire population of the target habitation. PMGSY is not an individual/ community centric scheme. The roads constructed under PMGSY cater to all the strata of the society. Nevertheless, Scheduled Tribes Areas have got specific focus in the scheme by giving special dispensation. While eligibility criteria for other habitations for getting connectivity under the scheme is a population of 500 persons (as per 2001 census under PMGSY-I and as per Census 2011 under PMGSY-IV), for Tribal (Schedule V) areas and Selected Tribal and Backward Districts (as identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Planning Commission) and for North-Eastern and Himalayan States, unconnected habitations with a population of 250 and above are eligible for providing all-weather road connectivity under the scheme. Further, the Government has also integrated the road connectivity components of the DhartiAabaJanjatiya Gram UtkarshAbhiyan (DA-JGUA) and the Pradhan MantriAnusuchitJaatiAbhyudayYojana (PM-AJAY) through convergence with PMGSY-IV. This convergence framework applies to all States and Union Territories. Under this model, priority is given to unconnected habitations identified under DA-JGUA that have a population of 500 or more with at least 50% Scheduled Tribe population, or those in Aspirational Districts with a population of 250 or more including at least 50 Scheduled Tribe members. Similarly, under PM-AJAY, priority is extended to unconnected habitations with a population of 500 or more and at least 40% Scheduled Caste population as per Census 2011. In addition to the above, road connectivity component of Pradhan MantriJanjatiAdivasiNyayaMahaAbhiyan (PM-JANMAN) is also being implemented as a separate vertical under PMGSY. A total of 8000 Km of road length are to be constructed under the scheme to provide connectivity to the habitations of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTG). Under PMGSY-IV, necessary guidelines have been incorporated to integrate accessibility standards in road construction under PMGSY which is crucial for promoting inclusivity and improving road safety. Features such as curb ramps, tactile paving, and accessible pedestrian crossings benefits not only persons with disabilities but also all the users and simultaneously enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorist as well. The States have been directed that while preparing DPRs, the Page 5 of 10"Accessibility Guidelines for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) for Rural Roads" are to be followed. ***** Page 6 of 10Annexure-I Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) &(b) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 605 for answer on 03.02.2026 State-wise details of habitations connected under PMGSY-I (as on 28.01.2026) Sr. Total Eligible Habitation Connected No. State/UT Name (Nos.) 1 Andaman And Nicobar 7 2 Andhra Pradesh 1,422 3 Arunachal Pradesh 616 4 Assam 13,719 5 Bihar 31,280 6 Chhattisgarh 10,628 7 Gujarat 3,047 8 Haryana 1 9 Himachal Pradesh 2,555 10 Jammu And Kashmir 2,132 11 Jharkhand 10,933 12 Karnataka 295 13 Kerala 401 14 Madhya Pradesh 17,493 15 Maharashtra 1,417 16 Manipur 622 17 Meghalaya 585 18 Mizoram 231 19 Nagaland 107 20 Odisha 16,991 21 Punjab 389 22 Rajasthan 15,963 23 Sikkim 350 24 Tamil Nadu 1,985 25 Tripura 1,979 26 Uttar Pradesh 11,748 27 Uttarakhand 1,860 28 West Bengal 13,224 29 Telangana 703 30 Ladakh 64 Total 162,747 Page 7 of 10Annexure-II Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) &(b) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 605 for answer on 03.02.2026 Habitations surveyed in GSS application as per PMGSY-IV eligibility criteria by the State Governments (as on 29.01.2026) Name of State/UT Eligible habitation as Approved as eligible for approved by States consideration under PMGSY-IV by NRIDA Andaman And 0 Nicobar 0 Andhra Pradesh 413 201 Arunachal 192 184 Pradesh Assam 4623 3610 Bihar 103 93 Chhattisgarh 2692 1981 Gujarat 2624 2087 Himachal Pradesh 1021 907 Jammu And 2278 2276 Kashmir Jharkhand 2786 2335 Karnataka 85 53 Kerala 2336 2211 Ladakh 31 18 Madhya Pradesh 9260 9177 Maharashtra 196 119 Manipur 303 271 Meghalaya 377 329 Mizoram 63 63 Nagaland 239 150 Odisha 2682 1676 Punjab 1 1 Rajasthan 1740 1686 Sikkim 283 237 Tamil Nadu 5 4 Telangana 173 93 Tripura 435 435 Uttar Pradesh 2181 2100 Uttarakhand 885 880 West Bengal 2862 1164 Total 40,869 34,341 Page 8 of 10Annexure-III Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 605 for answer on 03.02.2026 State-wise details of fund released and expenditure incurred during last five years S.N State 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 o Releas Expenditu Releas Expenditu Releas Expenditu Releas Expenditu Releas Expenditu e re e re e re e re e re (including (including (including (including (including State State State State State Share) Share) Share) Share) Share) 1 Andaman 0.00 3.78 9.22 5.45 12.22 7.51 12.22 22.93 0.05 3.97 & Nicobar 2 Andhra 53.20 396.75 50.00 508.86 644.13 748.63 140.64 368.03 507.32 370.60 Pradesh 3 Arunachal 952.31 1,429.61 1090.6 1,279.07 1018.7 1,246.99 339.90 320.09 609.00 726.10 Pradesh 0 4 4 Assam 2516.6 2600.19 1591.5 2,488.03 664.91 1,118.21 391.29 571.22 79.24 264.76 2 0 5 Bihar 49.13 2173.52 375.00 1,992.99 1443.2 2,088.54 963.37 1,815.63 1195.4 2,312.80 3 4 6 Chattisgar 924.48 1985.94 394.41 1,902.34 995.87 1,057.35 401.77 388.09 325.24 413.71 h 7 Goa 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8 Gujarat 79.08 133.32 195.50 400.16 266.63 492.19 298.41 330.33 220.65 361.22 9 Haryana 0.00 92.10 353.23 583.12 168.25 213.81 74.01 150.86 27.38 34.60 10 Himachal 745.24 1061.00 517.45 933.22 624.76 626.84 617.56 371.54 634.82 904.14 Pradesh 11 Jammu & 1727.3 932.37 1328.3 1,485.28 717.00 1,114.78 1304.1 1,256.96 1028.2 1,070.58 Kashmir 0 4 7 5 12 Jharkhand 293.50 1083.34 0.00 598.44 332.63 745.63 752.80 1,323.90 961.77 1,374.96 13 Karnataka 49.29 728.40 704.25 1,499.18 720.47 864.71 72.25 404.03 100.58 142.81 14 Kerala 89.97 71.76 0.00 46.91 106.76 124.97 54.25 164.95 122.27 249.15 15 Ladakh 50.00 514.73 140.79 109.66 109.97 107.81 37.50 30.44 113.81 111.33 16 Madhya 1099.5 2166.99 1392.2 2,419.14 1557.4 1,978.73 599.42 1,105.16 703.29 966.83 Pradesh 4 5 7 17 Maharasht 0.00 221.59 0.00 376.73 743.00 1,074.02 1110.8 1,507.37 854.93 1,524.10 ra 0 18 Manipur 420.66 601.46 742.00 710.58 744.98 539.11 161.29 296.83 2.81 88.75 19 Meghalaya 355.29 473.71 483.92 536.92 405.89 373.72 122.59 238.19 219.62 375.61 20 Mizoram 1.59 277.32 74.34 332.86 584.20 315.94 141.37 381.62 87.50 45.78 21 Nagaland 72.89 144.70 145.31 125.83 183.15 198.65 161.29 94.01 2.25 30.50 22 Odisha 774.29 1754.13 404.12 1,795.5 1235.8 2,088.9 1262.5 1,589.8 712.39 734.9 8 5 23 Puducherr 0.00 0.00 11.66 0.00 24.72 27.08 0.27 11.89 25.00 -0.10 y 24 Punjab 0.00 2.67 68.59 295.14 231.06 428.72 265.10 522.95 319.87 328.82 25 Rajasthan 237.15 492.13 917.51 1,452.64 199.90 372.38 404.79 633.09 450.46 933.32 26 Sikkim 195.50 178.52 107.28 177.89 263.33 230.34 94.37 130.13 70.00 148.98 27 Tamil 265.38 626.92 440.00 1,169.56 613.70 532.36 411.36 777.78 638.66 741.43 Nadu 28 Telangana 0.00 288.59 86.38 410.80 321.43 345.32 296.96 479.41 132.57 399.90 25 29 Tripura 69.57 99.25 73.88 202.93 267.59 152.90 185.03 112.64 172.75 98.07 30 Uttar 123.90 440.19 1418.5 2,074.26 2068.5 3,267.32 2679.6 3,791.65 1968.6 2,704.11 Pradesh 5 7 3 0 31 Uttarakha 1536.2 1493.50 787.00 1,218.45 1297.1 1,350.02 551.05 800.68 815.50 934.09 nd 7 6 32 West 969.31 1471.94 49.94 701.28 381.03 394.75 99.275 309.11 225.00 271.11 Bengal Total 13651. 23940.42 13952. 27,833.22 18948. 24,228.27 14007. 20,301.27 13327. 18,666.94 46 99 61 29 03 Page 9 of 10Annexure-IV Annexure-IV referred to in reply to parts (d) & (e) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 605 for answer on 03.02.2026 Number of inspections conducted by SQMs and NQMs and unsatisfactory grading by them since April 2024 to 28.01.2026 Name of National Quality Monitors State Quality Monitors (SQMs) State/UT (NQMs) Number of Unsatisfactory Number of Unsatisfactory Inspections (%) Inspections (%) A& N Islands 29 24.1 8 25.0 Andhra 1281 2.5 277 2.2 Pradesh Arunachal 1233 4.1 209 38.3 Pradesh Assam 2775 4.8 365 22.7 Bihar 7122 14.4 689 19.9 Chhattisgarh 3813 0.8 571 7.9 Gujarat 1092 7.2 66 16.7 Haryana 397 9.8 65 16.9 Himachal 2659 19.1 285 23.9 Pradesh Jammu & 1953 11.8 222 13.5 Kashmir Jharkhand 2406 2.1 598 19.4 Karnataka 1324 2.2 139 11.5 Kerala 679 9.6 133 15.8 Ladakh 214 4.2 30 3.3 Madhya 6383 6.8 571 8.6 Pradesh Maharashtra 2040 1.7 488 8.2 Manipur 58 5.2 111 45.0 Meghalaya 621 6.4 218 22.9 Mizoram 329 11.6 75 41.3 Nagaland 60 13.3 72 45.8 Odisha 4120 27.2 685 32.0 Puducherry 28 3.6 0 0 Punjab 903 5.9 129 14.73 Rajasthan 1516 9.9 286 3.85 Sikkim 350 2.6 75 21.33 Tamil Nadu 2764 4.2 253 9.88 Telangana 524 1.3 229 17.47 Tripura 308 21.1 87 19.54 Uttar Pradesh 5587 4.8 677 12.11 Uttarakhand 2087 20.3 291 26.46 West Bengal 2498 20.8 358 18.44 Total 57153 9.8 8262 17.57 ***** Page 10 of 10