Rural road connectivity has emerged as a precondition for inclusive growth. Critically examine the achievements and gaps of PMGSY in light of PMGSY-IV.

Q. Rural road connectivity has emerged as a precondition for inclusive growth. Critically examine the achievements and gaps of PMGSY in light of PMGSY-IV. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Launched on 25 December 2000, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana treats the all-weather rural road as the first link in the inclusion chain — connecting habitations to markets, schools and health facilities. Twenty-five years on, its record is substantial but uneven, and PMGSY-IV marks both a continuation and an admission of unfinished work.

Achievements - Scale and continuity: successive phases — PMGSY-II (upgradation), RCPLWEA (2016) for Left Wing Extremism areas, PMGSY-III (through routes) — have sustained a single connectivity mission across governments [3]. - Targeted inclusion: eligibility thresholds are deliberately lowered from 500+ population in plains to 250+ in NE/hill, tribal Schedule-V, aspirational and desert areas, and 100+ in LWE districts (Census 2011) [2]. - Technology-led accountability: e-MARG links contractor payment to performance through the five-year Defect Liability Period, backed by OMMAS and GIS mapping of roughly 45 lakh km of rural roads [3]. - Employment multiplier: PMGSY-IV alone is projected to generate about 40 crore person-days of work [2].

Persisting gaps - Unfinished last mile: the June 2026 Centre-State review had to direct states to complete residual PMGSY-I and PM-JANMAN habitations, including PVTG settlements — original targets remain open [1]. - Uneven federal execution: progress varies sharply across states, and e-MARG adoption is still not universal despite repeated central prompting [1]. - Maintenance deficit: financing beyond the Defect Liability Period rests on thin state and panchayat resources, risking asset erosion. - Design limits: Census 2011 thresholds exclude newly grown habitations, and connectivity alone does not guarantee market access without allied infrastructure.

PMGSY-IV (2024-25 to 2028-29), with ₹70,125 crore for 62,500 km and 25,000 habitations [2], and an FY 2026-27 target of 26,474 km costing ₹18,907 crore [1], is thus best read as a completion-plus-consolidation phase. Its promise will be realised if states pair physical targets with universal e-MARG use and dedicated maintenance grants — converting roads from built assets into durable enablers of equitable rural growth.

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Sources: 1. Over 26,000 km of Rural Roads Targeted for Completion in FY 2026-27; Centre Reviews Progress with States, PIB (18 June 2026) — FY 2026-27 target of 26,474 km and ₹18,907 crore; residual PMGSY-I/PM-JANMAN and PVTG habitations; uneven state progress and incomplete e-MARG adoption 2. Cabinet approves implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana – IV (PMGSY-IV) during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29, PIB (11 Sept 2024) — ₹70,125 crore outlay, 62,500 km, 25,000 habitations, 40 crore person-days, population eligibility thresholds 3. Celebrating 25th Anniversary: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), PIB — phase evolution (PMGSY-II, RCPLWEA, PMGSY-III); e-MARG, OMMAS, Defect Liability Period and GIS coverage of rural roads