VILLAGES IN MEGHALAYA WITHOUT ACCESS TO ROADS AND MARKETS

• The Ministry of Rural Development launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) as a one-time special intervention to provide rural connectivity, by way of a single all-weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations of designated population size (250 & above, in case of North Eastern States as per 2001 Census) in the core network for uplifting the socio-economic condition of the rural population.
• The mandate of PMGSY has been subsequently widened to include new interventions. PMGSY-II was launched in the year 2013, with a target to upgrade 50,000 Km of the existing rural roads. PMGSY-III was launched in 2019 for consolidation of 1,25,000 Kms through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations, inter-alia, to Gramin Agricultural Markets, Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.
• As per PMGSY guidelines, Rural Roads is a State subject and State Government is the nodal implementing agency in the State.
• Also, the unit for this programme is habitation, meaning a cluster of population, living in an area, the location of which does not change over time. In the state of Meghalaya, 481 habitations have already been connected out of the 602 habitations sanctioned for connectivity under PMGSY.
• MDoNER supplements the efforts of the State Government and line Ministries of Central Govt. to provide connectivity in North Eastern Region (NER) including providing road accessibility to remote areas which helps facilitate the tribal people residing in small and remote villages.
• Total length of roads sanctioned under the main Schemes of MDoNER namely – North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS) and North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) implemented either directly or through North Eastern Council (NEC), during the last 3 years in the State of Meghalaya is 169.51 Kms.
• Further, Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs has also undertaken 992 projects in NER, including Meghalaya, under “Road & Bridges” sector, from 2014-15 onwards.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB