Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), i.e., Prime Minister Rural Roads Scheme was launched in the year 2000 to provide all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations of population size 500+ in plain areas and 250+ in hills and other difficult areas. In 2013, the Government widened the ambit of the programme and launched PMGSY-II to upgrade 50,000 Km of the existing rural road network. In the year 2019, another intervention PMGSY-III was launched for consolidation of 1,25,000 Km Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations to important social & economic infrastructure. Besides, 10,000 Km road length has been sanctioned for inaccessible and backwards areas for their socio-economic development.

A total of 7,82,850 Km road length has been sanctioned under the scheme since its inception with an outlay of Rs. 3,44,500 crore (US$ 45 billion), out of which 6,93,000 Km has already been completed with an investment of Rs. 2,70,000 crore (US$ 36 billion). A total of 1,61,561 unconnected habitations have so far been provided all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY.

The scheme has been pioneer in use of new and green technology in construction of rural roads. Technology Vision 2013 for PMGSY mandated construction of minimum 15% road length using new technology and locally available materials. The objective was to achieve economy and speed in construction of roads, reduce carbon emission and environment degradation, and provide sustainable roads with reduced maintenance cost. More than 100,000 Km road length has been approved for construction using new and green technologies, against which more than 66,000 Km has already been completed. During the last year alone, a total of 19,000 Km road length was approved under new and green technologies, which is more than 40% of the total road length approved in the year. Major Technologies being used are waste plastics, cold mix, stabilization using chemical or commercial stabilizers, cell-filled concrete, paneled cement concrete, etc. Recently, full depth recycling is being adopted in a major way to achieve cost economy and reduction in carbon footprint.

With an objective to deliberate on ways to strengthen and adopt more such emerging technologies, new materials, and adoption of established technologies, though beneficial but yet not prevalent in the Indian context, an International Conference on 'New Technologies and Sustainable Materials in construction of Rural Roads (Low Volume Roads) and Bridges' along with technical exhibition is being organized from 24th to 26th May, 2022 at New Delhi, India. The conference will be through hybrid mode (both online and offline). This conference will be useful to engineers, field implementers, construction agencies, academicians, administrators, consultants and other stakeholders engaged in the subject of low volume roads.