Parliament Question: Rural and Tribal Areas of Nashik under PMGSY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4136 ANSWERED ON 17/03/2026 RURAL AND TRIBAL AREAS OF NASHIK UNDER PMGSY 4136. Shri Rajabhau Parag Prakash Waje: Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the details of rural roads sanctioned, completed and currently pending under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the rural and tribal areas of Nashik district, Maharashtra along with the number of habitations still lacking all-weather road connectivity; (b) whether the Government has assessed the poor condition and premature deterioration of PMGSY roads in Nashik and fixed accountability of executing agencies; and (c) the timeline and additional funds proposed to ensure 100 per cent durable all-weather road connectivity to the remaining villages of Nashik district? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN) (a): The unit of connectivity under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is habitation and not revenue village. Under the various verticals of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), 303 roads covering a length of 1,783 km and 41 bridges, with a sanctioned cost of Rs. 773 crore, have been sanctioned in Nashik district of Maharashtra. Out of which, 271 roads covering 1,556 km length and 34 bridges have been completed, with an expenditure of Rs. 702 crore, as on 12th March 2026. Further, 32 roads of 102 km length and 7 bridges are at various stages of execution. Under PMGSY-I, 134 eligible unconnected habitations were sanctioned for connectivity in Nashik district and all these habitations have already been connected as on 12th March 2026. Further, the Government has approved PMGSY-IV for implementation during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29 to provide all-weather road connectivity Page 1 of 3to about 25,000 additional eligible unconnected habitations by constructing approximately 62,500 km of road length, based on population criteria as per Census 2011. The Ministry is in continuous coordination with the State Governments/UTs for submission and approval of proposals under PMGSY-IV so as to ensure timely implementation of the programme. An Empowered Committee meeting was held on 10.3.2026 for consideration of 55 roads with a total length of 222.93 km for the State of Maharashtra, which also included 3 roads with a total length of 6.60 km for Nashik district. (b): As per the guidelines of PMGSY, maintenance of rural roads constructed under the PMGSY is the responsibility of the State Governments. The design life is divided in to two periods: Defect Liability Period (DLP) for first five years after completion and Post Defect Liability Period for the following five years after the DLP. Roads constructed under PMGSY are monitored through regular field inspections and the reports are captured through the online monitoring system eMARG (electronic Maintenance of Rural Roads) to ensure proper maintenance and adherence to quality standards. The details of these inspections are recorded along with Geo-tagged photographs, to enable transparent and real-time monitoring. PMGSY has a three-tier Quality Control mechanism for ensuring construction of quality road works and durability of road assets under PMGSY. The quality inspection reports are captured online on the Stage passing application, at each stage. Under the first tier, the Programme Implementation Units (PIUs) are required to ensure process control through mandatory tests on material and workmanship at the field laboratory. The second tier is a structured independent quality monitoring at the State level through State Quality Monitors (SQMs) to ensure that every work is inspected at initial stage, intermediate stage and final stage of the construction. Under the third tier, which is at the national level, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are deployed for random inspection of road works to monitor quality and also to provide guidance of senior professionals to the field functionaries. Based on the periodic monitoring of quality of roads under the 3-tier mechanism, corrective measures, wherever necessary, are taken by the State Governments. Guidelines/Instructions to regulate the quality control process have been issued to States/UTs from time to time. In Nashik district, 34 roads with a total length of about 186 km constructed under PMGSY are currently under the Defect Liability Period. Any defects, including premature deterioration identified during inspections or through the eMARG system, are required to be Page 2 of 3rectified by the contractor at their own cost. The concerned State Government/implementing agency is responsible for ensuring corrective action and fixing accountability as per the provisions of the programme guidelines and contract conditions, including withholding payments or imposing penalties in cases of non- compliance. (c): The works sanctioned under PMGSY-I and RCPLWEA are targeted for completion by March 2027, while the works sanctioned under PMGSY-II and PMGSY-III are to be completed by March 2026. The funds for the implementation of the scheme are released by the Ministry to the State as a whole and not district-wise. The funds are released based on works in hand, the execution capacity and performance and unspent balances of the previous releases available with them. Till recently, the funds were released by the Ministry to the consolidated fund of the State Government. From mid-2025 onwards, the fund is released through SNA Sparsh system. ***** Page 3 of 3