Parliament Question: Implementation of PMGSY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2552 ANSWERED ON 05/08/2025 IMPLEMENTATION OF PMGSY

2552. Shri N K Premachandran:

Shri M K Raghavan:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to implement the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) considering the specialty and requirement of State of Kerala, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether it comes to the notice of the Government that the work under PMGSY in Kollam LokSabha Constituency is delaying due to lack of funds, if so, the action taken to ensure the timely completion of the work;

(c) whether the Government proposes to initiate action on the inordinate delay in execution of the work, if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether it comes to the notice of the Government that the new technology adopted for tarring of roads which is not familiar to the contractors delaying the work, if so, the action taken to change the technology;

(e) the details of list of roads in Kollam LokSabha Constituency approved for development under PMGSY;

(f) whether the Ministry has noticed any delay in the completion of road works under PMGSY-III in Kerala, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(g) whether the Ministry can provide the details of average time taken to complete road construction under PMGSY; and

(h) if so, the State and district-wise details of Kerala on average time taken for implementation? Page 1 of 4ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a): The Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) was launched in the year 2000 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 as per Census 2001. Sinceinception,till 31/7/2025, a total of 402 habitations in Kerala have been provided connectivity under the programme.

The PMGSY-II was implemented in the country for consolidation of rural roads network. A total of 562.4 Kms have been constructed, as on 31/7/2025, in the State of Kerala under the programme.

PMGSY-III was launched in 2019 for consolidation of 1,25,000 Km Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations, inter-alia, to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals. In Kerala State, out of the total target length of 1,437.84 km, total 1,421 km of road length has been sanctioned and 747 km has been constructed as on 31.07.2025 under PMGSY- III. A total of 668 Km is currently at various stages of execution.

The Union Cabinet has approved the implementation of the PMGSY-IV from FY 2024-25 to 2028-29 for providing connectivity to eligible 25,000 unconnected habitations in the country 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 Central Government is working closely with the States, including Kerala, for submission of proposals under this programme.

(b) & (c): The allocation/release of funds to the State for implementation of PMGSY is done on the basis of the proposal received from the State which inter-alia depends on works in hand, execution capacity of the State and unspent balances available with the State. The funds for implementation of the scheme are released by the Ministry to the State as whole. Further release of funds to the Programme Implantation Units (PIUs) at the district level is done by the respective State Governments depending upon the absorption capacity of the PIU.

Page 2 of 4Since inception of PMGSY, the State of Kerala has been released ₹1872.25 crore under the scheme against which expenditure incurred (including State share), as on 31/7/2025, is ₹2,508 crore. During the year 2025-26, the State had an opening balance of ₹80.50 Crore out of which only ₹29.85 Crore has been spent, as on 31-7-2025. The State of Kerala has been requested to make provision for State share in the State budget against the corresponding Central share and comply with the programme guidelines for crediting 50% of maintenance fund requirements during the year in the maintenance fund of the State.

The details of expenditure incurred in Kollam district can be accessed at omms.nic.in> Progress Monitoring> Monthly Progress Reports>MPR1.

State Governments are advised through various Regional Review meetings & Empowered Committee meetings to take suitable necessary action to expedite timely completion of road works under PMGSY. States have been requested to augment executing capacity and contracting capacity to avoid delays in sanctioned projects. Bidding document provisions have been rationalized and training is imparted to field engineers and contractors as well as their staff for capacity building of field units.

(d): Yes, Mechanical Surface Dressing (MSD) was sanctioned for surface coat of the PMGSY III roads for some of the roads. However, based on the request of the State, this was replaced with 25mm Mix Seal Surfacing (MSS) instead of the sanctioned MSD as per para

11.5 of programme guidelines subject to condition that additional cost towards difference between 25mm MSS and two coat of MSD shall be borne from the savings of the particular batch and if no savings is available the State has to bear the additional cost from State fund.

(e): The details of list of roads in Kollam LokSabha Constituency approved for development under different interventions of PMGSY may be accessed at programme website www.omms.nic.in > Proposals > Sanctioned Projects.

(f): A total of 1,807 roads of 5,312.32 km length and 15 bridges were sanctioned out of which 1,592 roads of 4,550.32 km length and 4 bridges have already been constructed under various interventions/ verticals of the PMGSY in Kerala. 215 roads of 722.93 km length and 11 bridges are in progress at various stages of Page 3 of 4execution. The vertical-wise details in respect of Kerala are given

below:- Verticals Sanctioned Completed In-progress Number Road Number Number Road Number Number Road Number of Length of of Length of of Length of Roads (km) Bridges Roads (km) Bridges Roads (km)* Bridges PMGSY-I 1,374 3,308.37 1 1362 3241.10 1 12 39.34 - PMGSY 149 582.88 3 141 562.24 3 8 15.61 - II PMGSY- 284 1,421.07 11 89 746.99 - 195 667.99 11 III

Total: 1,807 5,312.32 15 1592 4550.33 4 215 722.93 11 *The in-progress road length is less than the difference of sanctioned and completed length due to reduction in curve length, change in alignment, construction of part length by other agencies, etc.

The timeline for completion of ongoing project under PMGSY- II, RCPLWEA and PMGSY-III is 31.03.2026. The timeline for completion of PMGSY I projects in the State was March, 2025.

(g) & (h): ‘Rural roads’ is a State subject and the works under PMGSY are executed through State Governments. As per the programme guidelines, the timeline for completion of road work is 12 working months from the date of issue of the work order.

However, where a package comprises more than one roadwork, the total time given for completion of the package is 18 calendar months. Similarly, a time period of 21-24 months has been allowed for completion of bridge works exceeding 25-meter in length, depending on site conditions.

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