PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh informed that the State has achieved significant progress under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III. The department has successfully procured sanction for the construction of 3,123 kilometers of rural roads and 43 bridges, with a total cost of Rs. 3,345.81 crore under PMGSY-III.
Vikramaditya Singh said that the department has made concerted efforts to expedite the execution of these works. So far now, 517.334 kilometers of road length has been completed, incurring an expenditure of Rs. 802.59 crore. This progress reflects the commitment of the department towards improving rural connectivity in a time-bound manner, he said.
The Minister said that the financial efficiency of the department, the Minister noted that during the financial year 2024-25, the expenditure under PMGSY stood at Rs. 905 crore against the allocated Rs. 650 crore. In light of this enhanced performance, the state government has formally requested the Central Government to double the allocation to Rs. 1,300 crore for the year 2025-26.
He further informed that the PWD department was proactively working on PMGSY-IV. Mapping of 1,560 habitations has been completed and out of which 1,115 habitations were found eligible by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). So far, 862 habitations including 102 under Stage-I have already been approved by the Ministry.
He said that following a meeting with the Union Minister for Rural Development on 30th April, a high-level team from the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) visited Shimla on 2nd and 3rd May. The team held detailed discussions with PWD officials and assured that the 247 habitations which were earlier rejected would be reconsidered on a case-to-case basis after proper verification.
PWD Minister said that the State has conveyed that land was available for 151 of these 247 habitations and we have requested that these be approved at the earliest. Once the approval process was completed, the State would be able to prepare approximately 250 Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) covering 1,400 kilometers under PMGSY-IV. He said that this work was being carried out in a fast-track mode to ensure timely execution.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
