Lok Sabha Question No. 1432 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-09
Subject: Review of Eligibility Criteria under PMGSY
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ms Iqra Choudhary

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1432 ANSWERED ON 09/12/2025

## REVIEW OF ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA UNDER PMGSY

## 1432. MsIqraChoudhary:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the  Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  SadakYojana  (PMGSY) originally prioritised providing all-weather connectivity to single,  unconnected  habitations  and  was  later  expanded  to include  link  roads  connecting  clusters  of  villages,  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Ministry  has  now  shifted  the  policy  to  prioritise only single-habitation connectivity and discontinue multivillage link road projects, if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether any surveys, field assessments or stakeholder consultations  were  undertaken  before  this  change,  if  so,  the key observations thereof;
- (d) the details and number of habitations earlier eligible under the multi-village model that stand affected including the details of projects deferred or cancelled, State and district-wise including Uttar Pradesh; and
- (e) whether the Ministry proposes to review the eligibility criteria, if so, the timeline thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a)to (e): The Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY), launched in December 2000, was designed as a single, all-weather road  intervention  to  provide  connectivity  to  eligible  unconnected Habitations  in  rural  areas.  The  basic  unit  for  the  programme  has always  been  the  Habitation  (cluster  of  population),  not  a  revenue village or Panchayat. PMGSY-I was implemented based on the Core Network (CN) concept. The CN consists of:

- a. Through  Routes:  Roads  that  collect  traffic  from  several  link roads/habitations and lead to Market Centres/Higher Category Roads.
- b. Link Routes: Roads that connect a single Habitation or a group of Habitations to the Through Routes or District Roads leading to Market Centres.

Therefore, from inception, the scheme has included the construction of Link Routes, which, by definition, connect a single or  a  cluster  (group)  of  unconnected  habitations  to  the  existing network. However, the objective was always to achieve single road connectivity to the unconnected habitation.

The government has launched Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana- phase IV, called PMGSY-IV, in September 2024. The primary  focus  of  the  new  vertical,  PMGSY-IV,  remains  strictly  on providing  New  Connectivity  to  eligible  unconnected  Habitations, particularly  those  that  have  become  eligible  based  on  the  Census 2011  population  data  (500+  in  plain  areas  and  250+  in  special areas).  The  Ministry  has  not  discontinued  the  concept  of  roads serving  multiple  habitations.  The  programme  guidelines  for  all PMGSY phases consistently emphasise that while  maintaining  the objective of connecting the target unconnected habitations, preference  should  be  given  to  those  roads  that  incidentally  serve other habitations or a larger population cluster. The overall principle remains  that  the  road  must  lead  to  a  designated  unconnected habitation,  but  if  its  alignment  also  happens  to  connect  or  serve other  habitations  along  the  way  as  a  Link  Route  within  the  Core Network, it is encouraged, provided the main objective is met.

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