Parliament Question: Identification of eligible habitations under PMGSY-IV in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 934 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06/02/2026 IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE HABITATIONS UNDER PMGSY-IV IN TAMILNADU 934 Smt. Rajathi : Will the Minister of Rural Development be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that the restrictions imposed under the new Pradhan Mantri GramSadak Yojana-IV (PMGSY-IV) guidelines have resulted in identification of only five eligiblehabitations in the State of Tamil Nadu against 40547 such habitations nationally; (b) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of the new guidelines on the States thatprioritised development; (c) whether the Ministry has received representations from States to continue funding forup- gradation, renewal and maintenance of existing roads; and (d) the detailed list of representations from stakeholders on this issue? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN) (a): Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) 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. The Government 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. To further this cause, the Government launched PMGSY-IV in 2024 to provide all-weather road connectivity to 25,000 unconnected rural habitations of population size 500+ in plains, 250+ in North East (NE) & Hill Sates/UTs, special category areas (Tribal Schedule V, Aspirational Districts/Blocks, Desert areas) and 100+ in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts, as per Census 2011. These habitations have become eligible due to their population increase. The unit for connectivity under PMGSY is ‘Habitation’ and not a Revenue Village or Gram Panchayat or hamlet. The sunset date of PMGSY-IV is March 2029. Under PMGSY-IV the eligible unconnected habitations were surveyed by the State Governments through the Gram Sadak Survey Application. The scheme has featured IT enabled planning based on PM Gati Shakti portal with a wider database for detailed analysis of data received from the transect walk and to facilitate developing the preliminary Detailed Project Report (DPR). The data captured are verified at the State level before uploading on Geo Sadak. The State Rural Road Development Agency (SRRDA) ensures that the vetted proposals meet the objectives of PMGSY-IV. The State of Tamil Nadu has uploaded 8 habitations as unconnected, out of which, 4 habitations have been approved by the NRIDA as eligible for consideration under PMGSY-IV Page 1 of 3and 1 is pending for verification. The district-wise details of habitations approved under PMGSY-IV in the state of Tamil Nadu is given in Annexure. (b): The primary objective of PMGSY-IV is to provide all-weather road connectivity to about 25,000 unconnected habitations. The States/UTs have surveyed a total of 78,836 habitations and uploaded 51,738 habitations as unconnected on Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS). The National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA), technical wing of the Ministry, has scrutinized these habitations and approved 34,372 habitations as unconnected which were meeting the eligibility criteria as per programme guidelines. (c) & (d): 'Rural road' is a State subject and as per the programme guidelines of PMGSY, maintenance of roads constructed under the programme is the responsibility of the State Governments. All road works are covered by initial five-year maintenance contracts to be entered into along with the construction contract, with the same contractor, as per the Standard Bidding Document. Maintenance funds to service the contract are required to be budgeted by the State Governments and placed at the disposal of the State Rural Roads Development Agencies (SRRDAs) in a separate maintenance account. On expiry of the 5-year post construction maintenance, PMGSY roads are required to be placed under Zonal maintenance contracts consisting of 5-year maintenance including renewal as per cycle, from time to time. The cost calculations for maintenance is calculated at the Detailed Project Report stage itself. The State Governments are required to make the necessary budget provision and place the funds in SRRDA for such Zonal maintenance contracts. The scheme of PMGSY-IV as approved by the Cabinet has no provision for the up-gradation of roads. The primary objective of PMGSY-IV is to provide all-weather road connectivity to about 25,000 unconnected habitations as per the eligibility criteria under the guidelines. ***** Page 2 of 3Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Rajya Sabhaunstarred question No. 934 for answer on 06.02.2026 District wise status of habitations approved by State, eligibility and approval by NRIDA Sr. State Name District Approved by Found eligible as per Approval (Status No Name State as programme guidelines By NRIDA) unconnected 1 Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri 1 1 Approved 2 Tamil Nadu Dindigul 2 2 Approved 3 Tamil Nadu Salem 2 0 - 4 Tamil Nadu Tiruppur 1 1 Verification 5 Tamil Nadu Tiruvannamalai 1 0 - 6 Tamil Nadu Vellore 1 1 Approved ***** Page 3 of 3