Lok Sabha Question No. 1551 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-12
Subject: Construction of Quality Roads under PMGSY
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: R.K. Singh Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1551 ANSWERED ON 12/12/2023

## CONSTRUCTION OF QUALITY ROADS UNDER PMGSY

## 1551. SHRI R.K. SINGH PATEL:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any steps under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to construct quality road in view of road accidents in the country including Uttar Pradesh; and
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

- (a)  &(b):  Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojna  (PMGSY)  is  a  one-time special intervention of Government of India to provide rural connectivity,  by  way  of  a  single  all-weather  road,  to  the  eligible unconnected  habitations  in  the  core  network.   It  aims  at  providing good quality connectivity to every eligible habitation.

For  this  purpose,  a  three-tier  Quality  Management  mechanism  has been  put  in  place  under  PMGSY  for  ensuring  construction  of  quality road works and durability of road assets under PMGSY. Under the first tier,  the  Programme  Implementation  Units  (PIUs)  are  required  to ensure  process  control  through  mandatory  tests  on  material  and workmanship at the field laboratory. The second tier is a structured independent quality monitoring at the State level through State Quality Monitors  (SQMs)  to  ensure  that  every  work  is  inspected  at  initial stage,  intermediate  stage  and  final  stage  of  the  construction.  Under the  third  tier,  which  is  at  the  national  level,  independent  National Quality  Monitors  (NQMs)  are  deployed  for  random  inspection  of  road works  to  monitor  quality  and  also  to  provide  guidance  of  senior professionals to the field functionaries. Based on the periodic monitoring of quality of roads under the 3-tier mechanism, corrective measures, wherever necessary, are taken by the State Governments. Road safety is a multi-disciplinary activity. With the support of Asian Development Bank, a Rural Road Safety Manual has been prepared by the  NRIDA  and  circulated  to  all  State  Rural  Road  Development Agencies (SRRDAs) to construct safer rural roads. The Manual covers guidance  on  accident  data  records,  safer  road  design,  road  safety audit  checklists,  community  awareness  and  education.  Suggestive training  modules  for  PIUs,  consultants  and  other  stakeholders  have also been given. Further,   adequate  provisions  has  been  made  in  the  programme guidelines  of  PMGSY  III,  which  States  are  required  to  follow  while preparing the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the road works to be sanctioned under the scheme. Safety aspects have to be integral part of  road  design  during  the  preparation  of  DPR.  At  the  'transect  walk' stage  itself,  the  PIUs  need  to  engage  with  the  local  communities  to identify hazards, local black spots and possible rectification measures. Also, the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, a technical arm of this Ministry has apprised all States on 6 th  October, 2020 to undertake design stage audit of all PMGSY roads more than 5 km long in the light of the directions issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. States were also requested to get all rural roads, more than 5 KM long, on which the work is to start or is in progress,  audited  for  safety.  Existing  rural  roads  in  operation  were also to be got audited/ inspected for undertaking remedial measures/retrofitting.

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