The Indian government is proposing a significant expansion of its Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) rural road scheme, aiming to connect even the most remote villages and spur economic activity, raise incomes, and alleviate poverty. Two sources familiar with the development revealed that the plan includes bringing unconnected villages and habitations with a population of 300-400 people in the plains and 100 people in hill, desert areas, and some tribal and backward regions. This represents a significant shift from the current PMGSY guidelines, which require a minimum population of 500 in the plains and 250 in hilly, desert, tribal, and selected backward areas to qualify for road connectivity.
The proposed changes, which could be implemented as an independent program or incorporated into PMGSY IV, the scheme’s fourth phase, are expected to be announced in the upcoming Union Budget scheduled for July 23rd. While the new phase might receive a token allocation in this budget, full provisions are anticipated from the following year onwards after detailed alignment and project award procedures are finalized.
The move has been met with cautious optimism, with former social welfare minister of unified Jammu & Kashmir, Sakina Itoo, expressing hope that the proposed expansion will benefit the left-out villages. She also raised concerns about the government’s past promises and the lack of tangible progress in rural development.
The interim budget presented in February 2024 already allocated ₹16,600 crore for the PMGSY scheme, which is currently focused on consolidating 125,000 km of through routes and major rural links connecting habitations, including Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), higher secondary schools, and hospitals. Alongside PMGSY, the Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) is underway. PMGSY-I and PMGSY-II are nearing completion with more than 99% of the work already finished.
Experts like Arun Kumar, a retired Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, believe that the expanded scheme will have a positive impact on rural communities. He emphasizes that improved road connectivity in small villages will lead to job creation as development projects become easier to execute. Furthermore, increased access to markets will benefit farmers and other rural producers, boosting trade activities and ultimately contributing to economic growth.
The PMGSY was launched on December 25th, 2000, with the objective of providing all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitations in rural areas. Since then, ₹3.8 trillion has been invested in various iterations of the scheme, resulting in the construction of approximately 760,000 km of rural roads out of the sanctioned 813,924 km across three phases of PMGSY and one phase of RCPLWEA. The scheme follows a 60:40 funding pattern between the central and state governments, with hill states receiving up to 90% central funding.
The government aims to complete an additional 50,000 km of roads by FY25. Inquiries sent to the ministries of finance and rural development regarding the proposed expansion remained unanswered at the time of publication.
