Lok Sabha Question No. 5101 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-24
Subject: Repair of Rural Roads
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Naresh Chandra Uttam Patel, Shri Jitendra Kumar Dohare

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5101 ANSWERED ON 24/03/2026

## REPAIR OF RURAL ROADS

5101. Shri Naresh Chandra Uttam Patel: Shri Jitendra Kumar Dohare:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there has been any delay in the repair of rural roads damaged during the last year;
- (b) if so, the details thereof particularly in respect of the Fatehpur and Etawah Lok Sabha Constituencies;
- (c) whether any complaints have been received from the affected rural communities in this regard;
- (d) if so, the details of the complaints received and the action taken thereon so far; and
- (e) the manner in which the Government examines the quality of rural  road  repair  works  and  ensures  proper  and  transparent utilisation of the funds allocated for the purpose?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): PMGSY roads are constructed by the State Governments with a  design  life  for  at  least  10  years.  As  per  PMGSY  guidelines, maintenance  of  roads  constructed  under  the  programme  is  the responsibility  of  the  State  Governments,  and  all  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.

Regional  Review  Meetings  (RRMs)  are  conducted  with  the  nodal departments  of  the  State  governments,  at  regular  intervals  as  a measure to monitor the progress & for effective implementation of the  PMGSY  scheme  in  the  States.      Also,  Area  Officer  visits  are organised by the Ministry for physical inspection and verification of all  the  programmes  run  by  Department  of  Rural  Development, including PMGSY.

As reported by the State, there is no delay in the repair of works under PMGSY.

- (c) & (d): As per Para 15.1 of the Programme Guidelines, ensuring the quality of road works  is the responsibility of the State Governments  who  are  implementing  the  programme.  However,  as reported by the State government of Uttar Pradesh, no complaints have been received from rural communities pertaining to the quality of  PMGSY works with respect to Fatehpur and Etawah Lok Sabha Constituencies during the last year.
- (e): PMGSY envisages a three-tier Quality Assurance Mechanism to ensure the quality of road works during construction. The first tier of this  mechanism  is  in-house  quality  control  at  the  Programme Implementation  Unit  (PIU)  level.  Second-tier  is  structured  as  an independent  quality  monitoring  at  the  State  level  through  State Quality Monitors (SQMs), in which provision of regular inspection of PMGSY works has been envisaged. The third-tier is an independent monitoring mechanism at the Central level. Under this tier, independent  National  Quality  Monitors  (NQMs)  are  engaged  for inspections  of  PMGSY  roads,  selected  at  random.    Action  Taken Reports of the road works graded as Satisfactory Requiring Improvement  (SRI)  and  Unsatisfactory  (U)  by  the  State  Quality Monitors are monitored by the respective State Governments.  Similarly, for works graded as Satisfactory Requiring Improvement (SRI) and Unsatisfactory (U) on the basis of observations of National Quality Monitors, Action Taken Reports are monitored  and  processed  by  the  National  Rural  Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA).

Further,  the  digital  governance  &  efficiency  protocol  used  in PMGSY helps the Ministry in monitoring the roads sanctioned under PMGSY. Details are as follows:

OMMAS & PMIS:  Online  Management,  Monitoring,  and  Accounting System ensures transparency (OMMAS), and Project Monitoring and

Information  System(PMIS)  ensure  real  time  tracking  of  project progress.

SNA  SPARSH:  The  transition to the SNA  SPARSH  fund  flow mechanism ensures "Just-in-Time" release of funds to the states.

e-MARG: Routine maintenance is processed through eMARG, where payments  are  contingent  upon  Performance-Based  Maintenance Contracts (PBMC).

GPS Tracking: Deployment of GPS-enabled Vehicle Tracking Systems (VTS) on machinery monitors on-site construction activity.

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