PAC punches holes in PM rural plan implementation

The high profile Public Accounts Committee ( PAC) of the Parliament, has punched holes in the implementation of the Centre's flagship scheme — Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana ( PMGSY or rural roads programme) — by noting discrepancies like unconnected habitations in rural areas having been shown as connected and non inclusion of eligible habitations by as many as 19 states.

The committee headed by Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge has also found that in an astounding 26 states, around 4,500 projects were delayed by one month to 129 months owing to land disputes, lack of forest clearances, delay in getting permission for mining

PAC has found discrepancies like unconnected habitations in rural areas having been shown as connected and non inclusion of eligible habitations by as many as 19 states in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

operations and paucity of funds among host of other reasons.

Also in seven states 73 rural road projects were shown as executed and completed without providing complete connectivity to the targetted habitations.

The panel which evaluates performance audit of all government departments as well as their schemes and initiatives, while scrutinising PMGSY's financial performance, found that 19 states like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, J& K, Jharkhand, Kerala and Rajasthan among others reported discrepancies like unconnected habitations being shown as connected.

Also eligible habitations ( which should be connected as per the norms of PMGSY) were not even included by the aforementioned states, while several habitations were found to be placed in wrong population size.

PMGSY was launched by the erstwhile NDA regime led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in December 2000.