New Delhi: Aiming to provide better connectivity in the hinterland ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Ministry of Rural Development is planning to construct 1,00,00 km roads in rural areas in the next 14 months.
“We have already sanctioned 1,00,000 km roads in the last 14 months and aim to construct it in the same timeframe,” said Amarjeet Singh, Secretary, Department of Rural Development.
1,00,000 km in fourteen months deduces to roughly 9.92 km in an hour.
The ministry under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana claims of having constructed 528,163 km rural roads. The Centre pays 60 percent of the funds under PMGSY, the rest falls under the state’s expenditure.
Odisha and Chhattisgarh have been specially monitored, explained the Secretary given their rural-urban imbalance and Naxal influence.
Odisha set a target to complete 3,500 km of rural roads by March-end under the scheme. As of December 2017, the state constructed 43,222 km road at an investment of Rs 18,624 crore.
Chhattisgarh, on the other hand, is slow in construction because of Naxalite hindrances. Rural development has been BJP’s focus area ahead of the Budget and the 2019 General Elections.
In a run-up to the Union Budget 2018, the Ministry of Rural Development has written to the Finance Ministry for additional allocation worth Rs 21,700 crore, secretary of the department of rural development said on Wednesday.
In addition to the existing target under the Pardhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the secretary informed that the ministry is planning to build 1.5 crore more homes for homeless, families after the initial target is completed. “There will be 4,33,000 new homes built in the country by 2022,” he said.
While Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have been the top states in construction of houses for the poor, Assam has been battling with floods resulting in slow progress. The data to recogniSe poor families is based on the 2011 socio economic caste consensus and is passed through Gram Sabha to avoid forgery.
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