Srinagar, Feb 03: The Government of India on Tuesday informed Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir has made significant progress in achieving universal all-weather rural road connectivity under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, the Union Ministry of Rural Development said, “Under PMGSY-I, as many as 2,132 eligible habitations in Jammu and Kashmir have already been connected with all-weather roads.
At the national level, the scheme has achieved near-universal coverage, with only a small number of habitations remaining unconnected across the country.”
The Ministry stated that under the recently launched PMGSY-IV, a fresh survey has been conducted to identify newly eligible habitations based on population growth as per Census 2011.
“In Jammu and Kashmir, 2,278 habitations were surveyed, out of which 2,276 habitations have been approved by the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) for consideration under the scheme. PMGSY-IV aims to provide all-weather connectivity to such habitations, with the timeline for completion set as March 2029,” it added
Highlighting quality assurance measures, the Government said that a three-tier quality management system has been put in place for PMGSY roads in Jammu and Kashmir. “This includes in-house quality checks by Project Implementation Units, independent inspections by State Quality Monitors, and random inspections by National Quality Monitors deployed by NRIDA. The monitoring process is supported by an online management and monitoring system to ensure transparency and real-time tracking of project quality,” it added.
The Centre also said that hilly, remote, border and tribal areas of Jammu and Kashmir are being treated as a priority area, under PMGSY, with relaxed population norms to ensure inclusivity.
The roads constructed under the scheme cater to the access needs of the entire rural population and are not community- or individual-specific.
The Government reiterated that PMGSY continues to play a crucial role in improving rural connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir, strengthening access to markets, schools, healthcare facilities and other essential services, while contributing to overall development and integration of far-flung areas of the Union Territory—(KNO)
