By IANS
New Delhi : A substantial number of roads constructed under the prime minister’s rural roads scheme have been found “unsatisfactory” in a random survey conducted by the rural development ministry.
Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has informed the Lok Sabha that of the 10,269 inspections of on-going projects under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), as many 4,309 – constituting 42 percent – proved to be below the mark.
The survey was conducted on projects started in 2004 and later. Accordingly, the survey inspectors of the ministry also examined 7,449 completed road projects and found 1,547 of these “unsatisfactory”. This worked out to 21 percent, Singh said.
The worst performance was reported from Jammu and Kashmir where the ministry surveyed 137 rural roads and found that only nine had been completed, of which seven were not up to the mark and only two met the required standards. The remaining 128 are still under construction and of these 81 failed to pass the test and only 47 were found satisfactory.
The minister belongs to Bihar and found his home state in no better condition, with a majority of both completed and ongoing road projects unsatisfactory.
Of the 614 roads inspected, the minister said 185 had been completed and of these while only 53 were found satisfactory 132 were unsatisfactory. Besides 429 roads are still being built, of which 174 were found satisfactory, 255 did not meet expectations.
Rajasthan overall proved to be the best state on this front, taking into account both the number of roads constructed and passing the ‘satisfactory’ test.
The ministry inspected 2,129 rural roads in Rajasthan and of these 1,217 completed roads were inspected – 1,160 of these were found satisfactory and only 57 were found unsatisfactory. Similarly a total of 912 on-going projects were also inspected, of which 818 were found satisfactory and only 94 were found unsatisfactory.
Madhya Pradesh also fared well, with the ministry inspecting 1,852 rural roads, of which 648 were completed and 1,204 were still under construction.
Of the completed roads, 581 were found satisfactory and only 67 unsatisfactory. Of the 1,204 on-going projects, 914 were found satisfactory and 290 unsatisfactory.
Orissa too has done well on this front. The ministry inspected 1,332 rural roads – 491 completed and 841 still under construction. Of those completed, 406 were found satisfactory and only 85 unsatisfactory and of the 841 on-going projects, 384 were satisfactory and 457 below the mark.
The record of Uttar Pradesh, which is normally condemned as a lawless and corrupt state and where nothing really works, was certainly far better than Bihar and some other important states, going by the minister’s account.
The ministry inspected 2,607 rural roads in Uttar Pradesh, of which 1,324 had been completed. Of these, 1,047 were found satisfactory and only 277 unsatisfactory. Similarly, 1,283 ongoing projects were also inspected, of which 735 were found satisfactory and 548 unsatisfactory.