CHENNAI: The state may lose Union government’s funding of around Rs 700 crore or more every year under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) from 2025-26, since the guidelines issued for phase IV of the scheme have excluded upgrading roads from its ambit, officials in Rural Development department said.
The state is unlikely to get the benefit of the scheme, since it has already achieved almost 100% road connectivity to all habitations, barring just eight, officials said.
PMGSY, launched in 2000 with an aim to provide all-weather road connectivity to rural habitations, is being executed in the funding pattern of centre (60 %) and state (40 %) since 2015. The guidelines for Phase IV were issued in December.
While the scheme earlier allowed upgrading of roads, officials said from the coming financial year, it will focus on providing new connectivity to habitations that have now become eligible due to increase in population. Habitations of a population size of over 500 in plains and over 250 in hills are eligible.
“Tamil Nadu has just eight unconnected habitations. Even those are because of delays in forest clearance. We have no eligible habitation that require connectivity. So, what do we connect?,” asked Minister for Rural Development I Periyasamy, in the Assembly on Wednesday.
“We have asked the Centre on multiple occasions to provide funds under the scheme for upgrading roads that were laid 10 years ago. Every state should be benefitted under any scheme. In this case, Tamil Nadu is losing its share,” the minister added. The policy note presented for the department on Wednesday said the centre is yet to provide a favourable reply on this request.
In PM JANMAN scheme for houses for ‘particularly vulnerable tribal groups’, TN sanctioned an additional aid from last year, taking its contribution to Rs 5.07 lakh per unit for plains and Rs 5.73 lakh per unit for hills while the centre’s contribution is Rs 1.2 lakhs per unit.
