NEW DELHI: An average of 91 kilometers of rural roads have been built daily in 2015-16, resulting in a total addition of 30,500 km of rural road length and 6,500 habitations have been connected, the Ministry of Rural Development informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a review meeting.
The Prime Minister reviewed the progress of rural development schemes and attended a presentation on the progress of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) by the Niti Aayog.
He was informed of the use of innovative and the best practices in PMGSY to further speed up the rural road construction progress. These include the use of GIS and space imagery for planning and monitoring, efficient fund flow by minimising the number of layers and citizen grievance redressthrough the app “Meri Sadak”.
Modi directed officials concerned to put in place an effective mechanism for stringent quality monitoring of the roads being built under the scheme and said quality checks should be made at the material procurement stage, the construction stage, as well as the maintenance stage. The DAY aims to alleviate poverty by ensuring sustainable livelihoods. The Prime Minister was informed that three crore households have so far been linked to Self Help Groups (SHGs).
He asked for due monitoring of loans being given to SHGs, using Aadhaar. He emphasised that loans must reach the intended beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the Centre is planning to award road projects worth `1 lakh crore in the Northeast in the next five years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. Chairing the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Gadkari informed that “there is a target to award road projects worth `1 lakh crore in the Northeast during the next five years”.
The meeting was held on Monday evening to discuss the functioning of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.