Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has urged the Central government to relax the norms set for the selection of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana III (PMGSYIII).
In a letter to Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh, Mr. Gandhi said “the PMGSY-Ill guidelines stipulate that the Comprehensive Upgradation Cum Consolidation Priority Lists (CUCPL) should be revised each year based on the latest weighted average Pavement Condition Index (PCI), and that the candidate roads should be preferable of length not less than 5 km.”
While the guidelines stipulated that the length should be preferably not less than 5 km, Mr. Gandhi said he had been informed that the PMGSY Online Monitoring and Management System (OMMS) portal only allowed for the inclusion of candidate roads that were at least 5 kilometres in length. A suggestive criterion has been turned into a mandatory condition, he said.
Mr. Gandhi said he had received several representations from his constituency stating that due to the above-mentioned issue, a large number of roads have been rendered ineligible for upgradation under the PMGSY-Ill.
Wayanad constituency has a challenging terrain with undulating gradients. It is also home to a large number of rural habitations spread over a large geographical area, he said.
