With election in mind, target year of completing PMGSY-1 advanced to 2019 from 2022

The Union Rural Development Ministry today said the government has advanced its target year for completion of phase one of PMGSY, a rural road scheme, to 2019 from 2022.

"Roads are primary to any development agenda. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), since its inception in 2000, has been able to provide connectivity to 1.52 lakh habitations (85.37 per cent against of the total 1.78 lakh eligible habitations)," the ministry said in a statement.

It said sensing the importance and urgency of rural roads for national development "the target date for completion of PMGSY-I has been preponed from 2022 to 2019".

To meet this accelerated target, the government has, so far, sanctioned the order for construction of roads to connect 1.66 lakh habitations, which is 93% against the target of 1.78 lakh eligible habitations, the statement said.

The PMGSY through its all-weather roads has contributed to the development of 11,499 new unconnected habitations for the first time in 2017-18, the ministry said.

Less than one per cent of the eligible habitations remain to be sanctioned for new connectivity, it said.

Under the programme, more than 5.50 lakh km of roads has been constructed.

The ministry also mentioned that the pace of construction of PMGSY roads reached an 8-year high of 134 km per day in 2017-18 as against an average of 73 km between 2011 and 2014.