Major boost to rural infra development
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 29: In a major boost to rural infrastructure development in the Union Territory of Ladakh, the Central Government has given nod to construction of 500-kilometre rural road network there, sanctioned under the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
This was announced at a high-level meeting on development of the States and Union Territories including Ladakh which was chaired by Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh through video conferencing.
“Minister of Rural Development Giriraj Singh reviewed status and progress of PMGSY of Ladakh. 195 km of roads constructed in Ladakh in two years under PMGSY I/II and another 500 km sanctioned under PMGSY-III,” a tweet by the administration of Union Territory of Ladakh today said.
Another tweet by the UT Government official said: “PMGSY roads not only connecting the rural areas but also promotion green technologies like use of plastic waste in road constructions. This will help in achieving the target of carbon neutral Ladakh. Thanks to the Minister of Rural Development”.
Sources said the Central Government targeted construction of 500-km rural road network, in the Union Territory of Ladakh, sanctioned under the third phase of PMGSY.
Since the creation of the Union Territory of Ladakh in August 2019, 195 km of road has been constructed and blacktopped in Ladakh under PMGSY, providing connectivity to villages.
An amount of Rs 149 crore has been spent during this period and an additional Rs 50 crore have been approved by the Centre under this scheme which will be released soon, the sources said.
As the task of connecting eligible habitations with all-weather roads has been substantively completed, the Centre has now launched PMGSY-III which envisages consolidation of the existing rural road network by upgrading existing ‘through routes’ and ‘major rural links’ connectivity habitation with ‘Gramin’ (rural) agriculture markets, higher secondary schools and hospitals.
“The Union Minister for Rural Development said that against the targets under PMGSY-III, detailed project reports (DPRs) of 425 km of road network with an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore have already been sent to the State Technical Agency (STA), empanelled by the Ministry,” the sources said.
The Union Territory administration of Ladakh also requested the Minister for early sanctioning of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) considering the short working season of Ladakh, the sources said.
They informed that innovative green technology has been used in constructing 84 km of the road which includes nanotechnology, cement stabilization and waste plastic.
Sources said the construction of 500 kilometres road under the PMGSY will give major boost to rural infrastructure development in the Union Territory of Ladakh and provide road connectivity to many rural areas.
“This has been a major development for the Union Territory of Ladakh. Construction of 500 kilometres road under PMGSY-III will definitely go a long way in development of the rural areas,” the sources said, and expressed confidence that work on the new scheme will start soon.
The Union Territory of Ladakh, it may be mentioned, has limited working season.
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