**Executive Summary**
This document provides answers to the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1432, addressed on December 9, 2025, regarding the review of eligibility criteria under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). It clarifies the scheme's objective to provide all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations, details the launch of PMGSY-IV in September 2024 and explains the concept of Through Routes and Link Routes within the PMGSY framework.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **PMGSY Overview:**
* Launched in December 2000.
* Aims to provide single, all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected Habitations in rural areas.
* The basic unit for the programme is the Habitation.
* **Core Network (CN):**
* PMGSY-I implemented based on the Core Network concept.
* CN consists of:
* Through Routes: Roads collecting traffic from link roads/habitations, leading to market centres/higher category roads.
* Link Routes: Roads connecting single/groups of habitations to Through Routes/District Roads to market centers.
* **PMGSY-IV:**
* Launched in September 2024.
* Focuses on providing new connectivity to eligible unconnected Habitations based on 2011 Census data (500+ population in plain areas, 250+ in special areas).
* Preference to roads that incidentally serve other habitations/larger population clusters.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Rural Development**
* **Impact:**
* Must ensure PMGSY implementation aligns with the clarified objectives and guidelines.
* **Action Required:**
* Continue to prioritize connecting unconnected habitations and maintain programme guidelines for all PMGSY phases.
**Habitations and Rural Communities**
* **Impact:**
* Improved connectivity to essential services and markets.
* **Action Required:**
* Engage with relevant authorities to understand connectivity plans under PMGSY-IV.
Key Entities Referenced
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY): A rural road connectivity program, originally prioritizing all-weather connectivity to unconnected habitations, later expanded to include link roads, and now in its fourth phase focusing on new connectivity based on Census 2011 data.
Ministry of Rural Development: The central ministry responsible for the PMGSY scheme and for determining eligibility criteria and related policy shifts.
Uttar Pradesh: Mentioned as a specific location where details of PMGSY projects deferred or cancelled are of interest.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1432
ANSWERED ON 09/12/2025
REVIEW OF ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA UNDER PMGSY
1432. MsIqraChoudhary:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY)
originally prioritised providing all-weather connectivity to
single, unconnected habitations and was later expanded to
include link roads connecting clusters of villages, if so, the
details thereof;
(b) whether the Ministry has now shifted the policy to prioritise
only single-habitation connectivity and discontinue multi-
village link road projects, if so, the reasons therefor;
(c) whether any surveys, field assessments or stakeholder
consultations were undertaken before this change, if so, the
key observations thereof;
(d) the details and number of habitations earlier eligible under the
multi-village model that stand affected including the details of
projects deferred or cancelled, State and district-wise
including Uttar Pradesh; and
(e) whether the Ministry proposes to review the eligibility criteria,
if so, the timeline thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a)to (e): The Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY),
launched in December 2000, was designed as a single, all-weather
road intervention to provide connectivity to eligible unconnected
Habitations in rural areas. The basic unit for the programme has
always been the Habitation (cluster of population), not a revenue
village or Panchayat. PMGSY-I was implemented based on the Core
Network (CN) concept. The CN consists of:
Page 1 of 2a. Through Routes: Roads that collect traffic from several link
roads/habitations and lead to Market Centres/Higher Category
Roads.
b. Link Routes: Roads that connect a single Habitation or a group
of Habitations to the Through Routes or District Roads leading
to Market Centres.
Therefore, from inception, the scheme has included the
construction of Link Routes, which, by definition, connect a single
or a cluster (group) of unconnected habitations to the existing
network. However, the objective was always to achieve single road
connectivity to the unconnected habitation.
The government has launched Pradhan Mantri Gram
SadakYojana- phase IV, called PMGSY-IV, in September 2024. The
primary focus of the new vertical, PMGSY-IV, remains strictly on
providing New Connectivity to eligible unconnected Habitations,
particularly those that have become eligible based on the Census
2011 population data (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in special
areas). The Ministry has not discontinued the concept of roads
serving multiple habitations. The programme guidelines for all
PMGSY phases consistently emphasise that while maintaining the
objective of connecting the target unconnected habitations,
preference should be given to those roads that incidentally serve
other habitations or a larger population cluster. The overall principle
remains that the road must lead to a designated unconnected
habitation, but if its alignment also happens to connect or serve
other habitations along the way as a Link Route within the Core
Network, it is encouraged, provided the main objective is met.
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