Rural roads target well within reach

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development, will achieve the annual targeted length of 48,812 km of rural roads by March 31, 2017, as the construction work picks up from January to May every year.

As on January 27.2017, 32,963 km of rural roads has been completed which is 67.53% of the annual target. According to the annual target (48,812 kms.), the average per day construction should be 133 km per day.  It is important to realize that September to December are lean months for road construction, which picks up from January to May every year.  It is also important to underline that from April to August, 2016, PMGSY had achieved an average per day construction of 139 km. per day and therefore by March 31, 2017 it will achieve the annual targeted length of 48,812 km, according to a PIB release.

Another major achievement has been the focus of using “green” technologies and non-conventional materials (waste plastic, cold mix, geo-textiles, fly ash, copper and iron slag etc.) in construction of PMGSY roads because these are locally available, low cost, non-polluting, labour friendly and fast construction technologies / materials.  In the first 14 years of PMGSY (from 2000 to 2014), only 806.93 km of roads were constructed using these technologies / materials.  In the last 2 years (2014-2016), over 2,634 km. of PMGSY roads have been constructed using these technologies /materials.