Lok Sabha Question No. 4999 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-01
Subject: Lifespan of Rural Roads under PMGSY
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4999 ANSWERED ON 01/04/2025

## LIFESPAN OF RURAL ROADS UNDER PMGSY

## 4999. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  roads  constructed  under  the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) are designed for a lifespan of ten years for which the contractors are responsible for maintenance for the first five years and State Governments for the next five years;
- (b) whether it is also a fact that several contractors fail to adhere to  these  maintenance  obligations,  leading  to  degraded  road quality in the country including Bihar;
- (c) the details and total number of contractors, if any, who have been blacklisted  for  poor  road  construction  and  maintenance under PMGSY in the country including Bihar;
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to ensure strict compliance with  Standard  Bidding  Document  (SBD)  provisions  regarding road maintenance; and
- (e) whether there are any plans to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to improve the durability and quality of rural roads under PMGSY?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a): In  terms  of  the Rural  Road  Manual  published  by  the   Indian Road Congress(IRC),  roads constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY)  are constructed with a design life of at least 10 years. As per PMGSY guidelines, maintenance of roads constructed under the programme is the responsibility of the State Governments. All PMGSY road works are covered by initial five-year maintenance contracts to be entered into along with the construction contract, with the same  contractor, as per the Standard  Bidding  Document.  Maintenance  funds  to  service  the

contract are required to be budgeted by the State Governments and placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  State  Rural  Roads  Development Agencies (SRRDAs) in a separate maintenance account. On expiry of  this  5-year  post-construction  maintenance,  PMGSY  roads  are required to be placed under Zonal maintenance contracts consisting of 5-year maintenance, including renewal as per cycle, from time to time.

(b): PMGSY  has a three-tier Quality Control mechanism for ensuring  construction  of  quality  road  works  and  durability  of  road assets.  Under  the  first  tier,  the  Programme  Implementation  Units 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  to ensure  that every work  is inspected at the initial stage, intermediate stage and final stage of the construction. Under the third tier, which is at the national level, independent  National  Quality  Monitors  are  deployed  for  random inspection  of  ongoing,  completed,  and  maintenance  stage  road works  to  monitor  quality  and  also  to  provide  guidance  of  senior professionals  to  the  field  functionaries.  Based  on  the  periodic monitoring  of  the  quality  of  roads  under  the  3-tier  mechanism, corrective  measures,  wherever  necessary,  are  taken  by  the  State Governments. Thereafter, the Action Taken Report (ATR) is verified on-site by State Quality Monitors (SQMs). The State Quality Coordinator (SQC) then examines  the ATR  and  furnishes the compliance report. The monitoring of Action Taken Reports (ATRs) is done  by  National  Rural  Infrastructure  Development  Agency (NRIDA), which is a technical arm of the Ministry of Rural Development.

To strengthen the quality check mechanism, the establishment of a field Lab has been made compulsory. These labs are also to be geo-tagged. Unless these are ensured, no payment is allowed to be made against such roads. Also, a new version of the Quality  Monitoring  System  App  has  been  developed  to  include  eforms and other initiatives, which has strengthened quality monitoring systems. Consequent upon the introduction of Electronic Maintenance  of  Rural  Roads  under  PMGSY  (eMARG),  payment  on account of maintenance to the contractor, during the defect liability period, is made commensurate with the quality of roads maintained by  him/her  through  a  performance-based  contract  management system.

- (c): The blacklisting of contractors for any lapse in implementation of the programme is done by the respective State Governments. No centralized data is maintained in this regard by the Ministry.
- (d): Tendering  of  PMGSY  works  is  done  by  the  respective  State governments. However, to bring uniformity in the awarding of works sanctioned under PMGSY, the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, a technical arm of the Ministry, has developed a  Standard Bidding Document (SBD). States are required to follow the  various  provisions  of  SBD  in  the  matter  of  awarding  works sanctioned under PMGSY. In case of poor quality of work, States are advised  to  take  necessary  action  against  such  contractors  and rectify the works at their cost. SBD already has strict provisions to ensure that good-quality contractors are engaged for the execution of  PMGSY  works;  however,  the  States/UTs  are  further  advised  to ensure  strict  technical  evaluation  during  the  technical  scrutiny  of bids.
- (e): PMGSY has a robust mechanism in place to ensure effective monitoring and quality construction of works.

To effectively monitor the entire Programme and bring about greater efficiency, accountability and transparency in implementation, a modern web-based online management, Monitoring,  and  Accounting  System  (OMMAS)  has  been  set  up  for PMGSY. Implementation of all sanctioned works is being monitored through OMMAS on a real-time basis to ensure that the physical and financial  progress  are  in  sync  with  the  overall  targets  given  to states.  Further,  a  Project  Management  Information  System  (PMIS) has  been  developed  for  better  management  of  the  construction activities of each road sanctioned under PMGSY-III.

To enhance transparency during road construction, it has been made  mandatory  to  install   Global  Positioning  System  (GPS)  enabled Vehicle Tracking System (VTS)  on all vehicles/ machinery/ equipment deployed by the contractor/ PIUs for execution of PMGSY works. This helps in assessing the proper operation of this machinery/equipment for a specified period, which is essential for achieving the specified quality of the roads being constructed.

Further,  as  a  measure  of  further  enhancing  the  focus  on maintenance  of  roads  during  the  defect  liability  period  and  also streamlining  the  delivery  of  routine  maintenance  of  PMGSY  roads, eMARG has been introduced, which is conceptualized on Performance  Based  Maintenance  Contracts  (PBMC).  As  mentioned in  reply  to  (b)  above,  payment  to  the  contractor  is  now  made

through eMARG, which is based on the minimum condition of road, its cross drainage works and traffic assets. Payments are based on how well the contractor manages to comply with the performance standards or service levels defined in the contract, and not on piece work.

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