|
I remember in
the '70s I used to drive on the bank of
the canal to reach my village from GT Road in
Sasaram while traveling from Calcutta for a
holiday. In those days, the irrigation department
used to maintain the bank in good condition.
Villagers were really afraid of severe actions if
they were caught doing any harm to the bank of the
canal even by a very junior employee of the
department. But over the years the banks are no
more maintained that good. Fault lies with the
population living along it. I can't any more drive
along it. When I heard of the Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana, I was hopeful that things would
change soon.
The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was
launched at the end of 2000 to connect villages
that didn't have roads. The roads under the
project as reported in media is changing the lives
of people and transforming rural India's economic
landscape wherever it has reached.
The UPA Government very rightly included rural
roads as one of the six key components of the
Bharat Nirman Yojna to build rural India. It will
now cover 1.72 lakh habitations by 2009. These
will be good all-weather roads, complete with
cross-drains, covering a total length of 3,70,000
km. In the first phase the habitations with a
population of 1,000 or more will be taken up.
Villages with more than 500 (250 in case of tough
terrain and tribal areas) residents will be
connected in the second phase.
The fund comes from the Re 1.50 cess the
government collects on the sale of every litre of
diesel. 50% of the total collection is allocated
to this rural road scheme. The estimated total
project cost will be Rs 1,32,000 crore.
An estimated Rs 15,782 crore has already been
provided to the scheme since 2000. The State Rural
Roads Development Agencies (SSRDA) set up in each
state is implementing the scheme. Till July 2005,
about 75,560 km (60 per cent-of the road length
cleared for construction since 2000) had been
built. While Uttar Pradesh has constructed
12,874Km (65%), Karnatala has done 4,492km (74%).
Rajasthan with 11,120km (78%), and Madhya Pradesh
with 8,127km (55%) are also on move. Tamil Nadu
has completed 2,856 km (68%), but West Bengal is
pretty behind with 2,472 (50%) of the target.
Orissa has reached a figure of 3,865 km (46%), but
Maharashtra with 3,004km(58%). Bihar has perhaps
just started or thinking to start. Whenever I have
enquired about the scheme with whomsoever I meet
from the rural Bihar, the reply has been in
negative.
For the maintaining the quality of construction,
the roads of the PMGSY network are subjected to
quality checks by several agencies at the local,
state and national levels. The technical
institutes like regional engineering colleges and
the IITs at Guwahati, Kharagpur and Roorkee are
assisting in the task of quality control.
According to the three-tier quality control
system, 89 per cent of the completed roads and 71
per cent of the works in progress up to March
2005, were satisfactory except for those built in
UP. In case a road is found unsatisfactory, the
contractor is blacklisted and action is taken
against him. All PMGSY roads are covered by a
five-year maintenance contract with the same
contractor.
The stress on quality is making a big difference.
Earlier roads constructed by the PWD used to wear
off within months. It is not so now. At the time
the launch of the PMGSY, the cost of building was
fixed at Rs 14.75 lakh per km. It has now been
revised to Rs 21 lakh per km.
Wherever roads are getting laid, farmers are
responding to market needs faster and better.
Better quality products are reaching the market
faster. Cottage industries have sprung up and
sales of bicycles have risen in areas where the
PMGSY has reached.
Economists say that the rural roads network can
usher in all round prosperity without putting too
much strain on the exchequer. India has 5.5 lakh
villages, some with a population of only 200. Most
of these settlements came up because of poor
mobility in the hinterland. The number of villages
may reduce and so will reduce the need to have so
many schools and other public services such as
healthcare centers. Some of the findings are
surprisingly encouraging: States where rural roads
have reached enrolment has improved, especially of
girl child. Infant and child mortality down,
access to primary health centres, hospitals up.
On-farm, non-farm and self-employment
opportunities have improved.
Unfortunately many states are not showing the
desired interest, as perhaps with better systems
in place in PMGSY, the vested interested are not
able to earn all that they were doing earlier in
PWD road construction. In Bihar, Central agencies
such as IRCON and Engineering Projects India had
to be roped in for building roads after local
contractors refused to pick up tenders. UP has not
decided about the quality control agencies, and
roads constructed under the scheme had been poor
in quality. But it is not at all surprising, as
otherwise these two states would not have been
vying for the bottom position on all development
parameters.
Ironically, the state that needs it the most -
Bihar has hardly done anything. Is it not damaging
and inexcusable? It would have progressed faster
if a right governor would have manned the state
during President’s rule. But the people of Bihar
perhaps have lost faith in anything but only
promises during election campaign.
My village is having a population of more than
3000. My uncle got the village connected with
roads coming from two sides that were built under
different schemes in perhaps 70s. Some transport -
a minibus and two jeeps - plies between famous
Sasaram, the district town and the village. But
over the years with no repair and damages caused
by the habitations that have come up along the
road, I can’t manage to reach my village on my
Alto. Only tractors and some SUVs can manage to
move on that road and that also if the driver is
having special skill for the terrain. As per the
PMGSY scheme plan, the road would have been
improved to the present standard of quality in
phase 1 itself. But who will do that if the state
doesn’t show any interest in taking up the
projects initiated by the center or the World
Bank? But the rural population along the road will
also have to take pain and change their way of
using the road, so that the road remains in good
condition for longer period.
Return to previous Page |
