Biswa Bhusan Mohapatra
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The slow pace of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna in integrated action plan (IAP) districts has marred the objective of providing all weather connectivity to all rural and remote areas in the state.
According to data of rural development department, 7422 road projects had been sanctioned under the PMGSY till May 2015, out of which 2178 projects are going at a snail’s pace. The projects had been sanctioned for 18 IAP districts. The details of projects sanctioned and completed as follows;
In terms of length, the government has sanctioned road projects of 30229.65km, out of which 21731.77 km have been completed and rest 8498 km roads are yet to be completed.
The government has cleared 9,067 habitations under PMGSY out of 13,121eligible habitations in 18 IAP districts. However, road connectivity work has progressed in 6,074 habitations so far. More than half of the eligible habitations are yet to be covered under the rural infrastructure scheme.
Interestingly, Maoist-affected Malkangiri district, which is eligible under the scheme, has been left out. Although 930 eligible habitations exist in the district, 431 have been cleared under PMGSY and 156 actually taken up through the scheme.
This example can evince the sincerity of babus and engineers who are drawing handsome salaries and also percentage (PC in unofficial parlance).
If the workflow continues in this manner, the government will not be able to provide all weather road connectivity to all non-connected habitations in the next several years.
In terms of money, till the end of May 2015 projects worth around `11,469 crore has been approved and `8,276 crore has been utilised. In the current financial year around `154 crore has been spent in these districts under the ambitious scheme.
However, according to government officials, the tardy pace of funds flow from the Central scheme has been causing the delay. Now, the state government has agreed to provide funds and the work will resume in full swing.
“The Union government had sanctioned projects worth `17814.24 crore to the state under PMGSY programme till April-end. However, the state has received `12337.83crore against the sanctioned amount. The remaining `5476.41crore is yet to be released by the Centre,” RD additional secretary RN Mohanty said.
The government has recently decided to provide half of the budgeted allocation made under the schemes for 2015-16 fiscal.
As the RD department has already received `395crore under PMGSY for the current fiscal, it was decided that the finance department would provide `500crore under the scheme, Mohanty added.
PMGSY was launched in state to provide all-weather road connectivity to habitations in villages having a population up to 250 each and above in 18 IAP districts and 500 and above for 12 non-IAP districts and population of 100 and above in 38 left wing extremism affected blocks of the IAP districts.
