Model villages to get roads on priority basis

Model villages adopted by members of parliament under a special government programme will now get roads constructed on a priority basis, a release said here Friday.

The model village scheme or the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Oct 11, 2014.

The village roads would be constructed under another central government scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), it said.

In these model villages, rural roads constructed or upgraded under PMGSY would have to be maintained by the state governments up to prescribed standards and even beyond the construction in the period of first five years.

A decision to issue these amended guidelines was taken in a meeting chaired by Rural Development Minister Birender Singh.

This is in accordance with the cabinet decision wherein all ministries and departments of the central government have been asked to make changes in the guidelines of their respective sectors and centrally sponsored schemes to enable priority to be given to the Gram Panchayats under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

The centre has approved amendments in the PMGSY guidelines to accord priority in the selection of roads for new connectivity as well as upgradation.