PMGSY stretches into 4th phase: 25,000 villages to be linked with all-weather roads

The Jal Jeevan Mission has been allocated Rs 69,926.65 crore, Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

While the overall outlay for rural development is Rs 2.66 lakh crore — up 11.2% from Rs 2.39 lakh crore in the last fiscal — the three announcements on PMGSY, PMAY and Jal Jeevan are a big push to capital expenditure that will spur investment and growth in rural areas.

Under PMGSY, which was launched in 2000 by the then NDA government headed by PM Vajpayee, over 7 lakh km road length of the sanctioned 8.25 lakh km has been completed — in three phases and a separate component for areas affected by Left Wing Extremism.

The three PMGSY phases were supposed to be completed by 2024-25. Now, Phase-4 means the rural roads scheme will continue.

The Indian Express had earlier reported that the launch of Phase IV of PMGSY was on the Rural Development Ministry’s 100-day agenda after the BJP-led NDA came to power for the third consecutive time in June.

The PMAY-G, launched in 2016, was aimed at constructing 2.95 crore rural houses, of which 2,94,66,340 have been sanctioned till July 23, 2024.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said, “Three crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana in rural and urban areas in the country have been announced, for which the necessary allocations are being made.” Of these 3 crore houses, two crore will be constructed under the PMAY-G, as Sitharaman had earlier announced in the Interim Budget in February.

Granting formal approval to these additional 3 crore houses was the current Government’s first Cabinet decision.

The Government has also decided to increase the unit cost under PMAY-G from the existing Rs 1.2 lakh to 2 lakh in plain areas, and Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 2.20 lakhs in IAP districts/Hilly/ North Eastern States and difficult areas from 2024-25 onward. It is estimated that Rs 4,18,200 crore (including 2% Admin Funds) will be spent on the scheme in the coming years.

Construction of one PMAY-Gramin house of 25 sq mt (267 sq ft), on an average, requires 9,000 bricks, 110 cement bags, 750kg steel, 12 cubic metre (cmt) sand, 40 mm x 3 cmt metal, and wood/steel for four doors, four windows, said a source. PMAY-G also generates employment, directly and indirectly. Generally, the labour component in a house construction is about 25 per cent, said a source.

Sitharaman also announced rural land related reforms. “Rural land-related actions will include (1) assignment of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands, (2) digitisation of cadastral maps, (3) survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership, (4) establishment of land registry, and (5) linking to farmers registry. These actions will also facilitate credit flow,” she said.