HP Secures Rs 3,345 cr for Roads, Bridges under PMGSY-III

Shimla, May 6 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh has secured sanction for the construction of 3,123 kilometres of rural roads and 43 bridges with a total cost of Rs 3,345.81 crore under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III, Public Works Minister (PWD) Minister Vikramaditya Singh said on Tuesday.

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 2025-26, a statement issued here said.

He further informed that the PWD department was proactively working on PMGSY-IV and said that 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). The scheme focuses on connecting habitations with populations of 500-plus in plains and 250-plus in hill states.

He said that following a meeting with the Union Minister for Rural Development on April 30, a high-level team from the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) visited Shimla on May 2 and 3 and 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.

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.