'Rural Roads’ is a state subject and as per the programme guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), maintenance of roads constructed under the programme is the responsibility of the State Governments and all road works are covered by initial five year maintenance contracts to be entered into along with the construction contract, with the same contractor, as per the Standard Bidding Document. Maintenance funds are to be provided by the State Government. Maintenance of roads beyond 5 years is also to be done by the State Government.

All States have framed their rural road maintenance policies based on the policy framework developed by the Ministry. As a measure of enhancing the focus on maintenance of roads during the defect liability period (five years from the date of completion of the road) and streamlining the delivery of routine maintenance of PMGSY roads, Electronic Maintenance of PMGSY roads (eMARG) , i.e. a web application, has been implemented in all the States.

The progress in implementation of PMGSY works is also regularly reviewed by the Ministry by way of Regional Review Meetings (RRMs), Performance Review Committee (PRC) Meetings, and Pre-Empowered/ Empowered Committee Meetings with the States. Besides the above, special review meetings/monthly review meetings are also held by the Secretary/ Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development with Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries of the States to take stock of the progress of the scheme including maintenance aspects.

The Ministry has brought out a new Technology Vision Document in 2022 for promoting green/ new technologies in PMGSY roads construction. The implementation of these technologies is based on Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines and evaluations undertaken by premier technical institutions in the country. The National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) organizes workshops, trainings, field demonstrations for States/ UTs to encourage cross-learning and adoption of these technologies for saving natural resources, enhancing speed of construction and also for utilizing local waste.

For the survey and planning of PMGSY-IV in a systematic, user-friendly & scientific way, Ministry of Rural Development has recently launched a mobile App namely PMGSY Gram Sadak Survey App for digital mapping of unconnected habitations for PMGSY-IV. Also, PMGSY-IV road alignment planning will be undertaken through the PM Gati Shakti portal. PM Gati Shakti portal with a wider database is available for detailed analysis of data received from the survey and will facilitate developing the preliminary Detailed Project Report (DPR). Pilots have been conducted for the technologies and these applications have been introduced on the basis of the results obtained.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Rural Shri Kamlesh Paswan in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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