Lok Sabha Question No. 761 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-25
Subject: Audit of Roads under PMGSY
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Midhun Reddy

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

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 761 ANSWERED ON 25/07/2023

## AUDIT OF ROADS UNDER PMGSY

## 761.  SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted an audit of the roads constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) during each of the last five years;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government has introduced any tech-enabled monitoring mechanism to get a realtime update on the roads constructed under PMGSY;
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the steps taken by the Government to ensure regular maintenance and timely repairs of roads built under PMGSY?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  &  (b)   There  is  a  three-tiered  quality  audit  mechanism  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  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, middle stage and  final  stage  of  construction.   Under  the  third  tier,  independent National  Quality  Monitors  (NQMs)  are  deployed  by  National  Rural Infrastructure  Development  Agency  (NRIDA) for  random  inspection of  road  and  bridge  works  to  monitor  quality  and  also  to  provide guidance to the field functionaries.

The details of NQM and SQM inspections conducted during each of the  last  5  years,  based  on  the  number  of  ongoing,  completed  and maintenance works, is given below-

| Yea r    | Inspections conducted by SQMs   | Inspections conducted by SQMs   | Inspections conducted by SQMs   | Inspections conducted by SQMs   | Inspections conducted by NQMs   | Inspections conducted by NQMs   | Inspections conducted by NQMs   | Inspections conducted by NQMs   |
|----------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| Yea r    | No. of Inspecti ons             | U% in complet ed works          | U% in ongoi ng works            | U% in maintena nce works        | No. of Inspecti ons             | U% in complet ed works          | U% in ongoi ng works            | U% in maintena nce works        |
| 201 8-19 | 37,582                          | 1.53                            | 2.5                             | 13.74                           | 9,356                           | 5.69                            | 7.41                            | 24.36                           |
| 201 9-20 | 36,497                          | 2.11                            | 2.56                            | 11.97                           | 8,989                           | 8.20                            | 8.82                            | 22.75                           |
| 202 0-21 | 27,832                          | 1.31                            | 2.37                            | 8.5                             | 2,653                           | 6.70                            | 6.16                            | 20.70                           |
| 202 1-22 | 59,328                          | 0.85                            | 1.70                            | 9.35                            | 9,262                           | 6.75                            | 4.21                            | 22.71                           |
| 202 2-23 | 52,599                          | 1.11                            | 2.35                            | 12.76                           | 7,162                           | 9.63                            | 7.38                            | 21.88                           |

Note- U% - Unsatisfactory percentage

The works reported as unsatisfactory are taken up with the State Governments  for  rectification  and  submission  of  Action  Taken Reports.

To assess the outcomes of the programme, NITI Aayog and World Bank have carried out Impact Evaluation Studies of PMGSY roads in   the  year  2020  and  2018  respectively.  The NITI  Aayog  in  it's report 'Evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes in Rural Development Sector Vol. 2 : Rural Development, December 2020' has mentioned that PMGSY is well aligned with -

- (i)         Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the National priorities
- (ii)        The rural context; developing rural infrastructure is a key pathway to mitigate poverty of rural areas.
- (iii)       India's international goals and is seen to contribute to SDGs 2 & 9 addressing the issues of poverty, hunger and infrastructure for growth

The World Bank in its 2018 report has also documented the wideranging  impact  of  PMGSY  in  improving  employment  &  economic opportunities along with improved health outcomes in rural areas.

(c) & (d)  In order to effectively monitor the entire Programme and bring about greater efficiency, accountability and transparency in implementation, a modern web based On-line Management, Monitoring  and  Accounting  System  (OMMAS)  has  been  set  up  for

PMGSY. Implementation of all sanctioned works is being monitored through OMMAS on real time basis to ensure that the physical and financial  progress  are  in  sync  with  the  overall  targets  given  to states. Progress of all roads uploaded on OMMAS is monitored on real time basis with the provision of Geotech Photographs. Further Project Management Information System (PMIS) has been developed  for  better  management  of  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 these  machinery/  equipment  for  a  specified  period which is  very 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, Electric Maintenance of Rural Roads (eMARG) has been introduced, which is conceptualized on Performance Based Maintenance Contracts (PBMC). 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.

(e)  PMGSY roads are constructed by the State Governments 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.

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