Latest news with #PradhanMantriGramSadakYojana
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Shivraj Chauhan takes stock of development schemes
Union Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged district-level officials to expedite the implementation of the PM Awas Yojna and Lakhpati Didi schemes. During a visit to his parliamentary constituency, Vidisha, he held a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) in Raisen. The meeting involved in-depth discussions on public welfare issues such as steps to check black marketing in fertilisers and crackdown on the sale of counterfeit fertilisers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Lakhpati Didis under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and water infrastructure. While reviewing the work of the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) — Awas Plus, Chouhan instructed that the scheme should be implemented in such a way that beneficiaries receive their instalments on time. He stressed on ensuring zero negligence in construction works and called for rigorous monitoring at the district level to ensure timely completion. In the fiscal year 2024-25, as many as 27,981 houses have been approved across all Gram Panchayats of the district — 4,825 are complete, and 23,156 are under progress. Chouhan reviewed the progress under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and asked for a detailed count of Lakhpati Didis. He weighed on the fact that more and more women should be empowered to become Lakhpati Didis through a concrete action plan. It has been said that the district currently has 43,613 Lakhpati Didis. The Union Minister obtained scheme-wise information during the review of the agriculture department's work in the district. He directed that strictest action be taken against people who are engaged in black marketing or selling counterfeit fertilisers, as it amounts to a grave injustice against farmers. The minister also inquired about the procurement of 'moong' (green gram) and instructed officials to inspect procurement centres. During a review of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the Minister directed that every village be connected to main roads, ensuring seamless rural connectivity and improved access to services. It was reported that under the 2024-25 plan, 30 roads covering 276.236 km have been sanctioned, of which 28 roads have been completed. Similarly, of 13 sanctioned bridges, nine have been completed. The meeting also reviewed the work of the National Highways Authority of India. The Minister directed agriculture officers to visit fields regularly and advise farmers about appropriate pesticides in case of crop diseases. He emphasised using Krishi Vigyan Kendras to disseminate the latest agricultural techniques and also instructed on getting on with early preparations for the rabi (winter) crops. Upon being informed that Basmati rice from the district had been rejected in international markets, he told officials to educate farmers against using internationally banned pesticides. Chouhan asked for details about reservoirs and pond water storage conditions during the review of the Water Resources Department. He reiterated that under the Jal Jeevan Mission, every household must have tap water access and that all incomplete projects must be finished at the earliest. He also reviewed the Energy Department's progress, particularly under-construction electricity substations, and instructed that they too be completed without any further delay.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Time of India
Uttarakhand@25: State marks milestone 25th year with green growth, digital push
. Two and a half decades after its separation from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand is marking a remarkable journey of transformation, driven by roads. From just 8,000 km of roadways in 2000 to over 40,000 km today, the state has redefined connectivity, resilience, and sustainability. In the latest episode of the Times of India's 'Uttarakhand @25' Administrative Officer Dr Pankaj Kumar Pandey reflects on the state's transformation from 2000 to 2025. 'When we were separated from Uttar Pradesh, we made a lot of progress. If you compare it with Uttar Pradesh, we had 8000 km of roads in Uttarakhand in 2000. Now we have made 40,000 km,' Pandey said. Uttarakhand@25: Dr Pankaj Kumar Pandey discusses Uttarakhand's infrastructure growth Nearly all villages with populations over 250 are connected, facilitating access to healthcare, education, and markets. Even remote hamlets are being linked under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, though smaller clusters remain pending, he said. The 2013 Kedarnath disaster prompted a major shift toward building 'all-weather' roads. Led by Pandey and backed by the central government, around 900 km of highways, connecting the Chardham sites and areas along the Indo-China border, have since been upgraded to ensure they remain accessible throughout the year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Libas Purple Days Sale Libas Undo "In Chardham, we took all the roads and a road from Tanakpur to Lipu Lake, which goes to the China border. We took it in this all-weather road," said Pandey. Uttarakhand's forest cover has increased from 64% to over 70% in 25 years, despite heavy infrastructure investments. All projects undergo Environmental Impact Assessments, with alignment adjusted to preserve protected species like oak and Devdar. Notably, 3,000 trees were transplanted during a four‑lane highway upgrade near Rishikesh. 'We are connecting 16 big temples and will cover major towns and areas with a good road. We are connecting more than 40 villages in Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh and Champawat. We are connecting the villages where people used to move,' he said. Pandey highlights the adoption of cutting-edge methods: cold‑mix technology to reduce air pollution, plastic‑bitumen blends for road durability, and Full‑Depth Reclamation to recycle road material. Thin White Topping is used in water‑prone zones for long-term resilience. "We are using cold mix in the mountains, so there is no pollution from cold mix, there is no smell, there is no smoke, there is no problem. We are using it very successfully," he said. A digital DPR system with drone surveillance and soil‑stabilization techniques is deployed across 200 identified landslide zones. In critical areas, tunnels, such as those in Dhruvdhrupayag and near Lipu Lake, minimize ecological disruption and maintain connectivity. "We have taken the whole system digitally. We have a digital DPR system, everything comes there," said Pandey. Road development serves dual objectives: economic connectivity and security. Arterial roads and vibrant‑village projects link over 40 border villages and tourist circuits such as Lipulekh and Ganga‑Rishikesh. Ring roads and bypasses are in progress to alleviate congestion and support responsible tourism. Initiatives like plastic‑recycle plants and a ban on single‑use plastic at Char Dham are already in place. Pandey concludes that the growth is people centric and environmentally conscious, marking Uttarakhand's quarter‑century milestone as the result of thoughtful governance and sustainable progress.
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Nadda meets Gadkari, seeks help in restoring HP roads damaged by flash floods
Shimla: Union health minister and BJP national president J P Nadda , along with BJP Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh Harsh Mahajan, met road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday and sought help for the damaged roads and highways in the hill state. After the meeting, Nadda said Gadkari assured them that the central govt would not leave any stone unturned to help Himachal and the roads damaged by the disaster would be repaired on a war footing. The vision presented by the central minister regarding road construction technology, tunnels, and bridges will significantly benefit Himachal, Nadda added. The health minister said the pace of development in the rural areas of Himachal would now accelerate. The central govt has approved a material budget of Rs 201 crore for the state under the first phase of MNREGA, he informed. This amount will expedite small and large projects, including steps, pathways, and roads at the panchayat level. Nadda mentioned that Himachal had been consistently receiving funds from the central govt under the national disaster relief fund and the state disaster relief fund, with over Rs 5,000-crore in aid already provided to the state. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like [Pictures] The only WD-40 trick everyone should know Undo The central govt is always ready to provide relief, having stood by Himachal financially in the past and will continue to do so, said the BJP national president. Recalling the 2023 monsoon season, Nadda mentioned the disasters in Mandi and Kullu, during which he had visited Himachal three times. He recalled that Rs 3,146 crore in relief was provided by the central govt to the hill state. Recently, the central govt allocated Rs 2,006 crore to Himachal for rehabilitation under the NDRF, totalling Rs 5,152 crore, said Nadda. Also, more than one lakh houses have been provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and roads worth over Rs 3,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he added. Shimla: Union health minister and BJP national president J P Nadda, along with BJP Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh Harsh Mahajan, met road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday and sought help for the damaged roads and highways in the hill state. After the meeting, Nadda said Gadkari assured them that the central govt would not leave any stone unturned to help Himachal and the roads damaged by the disaster would be repaired on a war footing. The vision presented by the central minister regarding road construction technology, tunnels, and bridges will significantly benefit Himachal, Nadda added. The health minister said the pace of development in the rural areas of Himachal would now accelerate. The central govt has approved a material budget of Rs 201 crore for the state under the first phase of MNREGA, he informed. This amount will expedite small and large projects, including steps, pathways, and roads at the panchayat level. Nadda mentioned that Himachal had been consistently receiving funds from the central govt under the national disaster relief fund and the state disaster relief fund, with over Rs 5,000-crore in aid already provided to the state. The central govt is always ready to provide relief, having stood by Himachal financially in the past and will continue to do so, said the BJP national president. Recalling the 2023 monsoon season, Nadda mentioned the disasters in Mandi and Kullu, during which he had visited Himachal three times. He recalled that Rs 3,146 crore in relief was provided by the central govt to the hill state. Recently, the central govt allocated Rs 2,006 crore to Himachal for rehabilitation under the NDRF, totalling Rs 5,152 crore, said Nadda. Also, more than one lakh houses have been provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and roads worth over Rs 3,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he added.
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Govt to notify revamped model concession agreement for BOT (Toll) projects in a month, says road secretary Umashankar, ETInfra
Advt Advt By & , ETInfra NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will notify a revamped Model Concession Agreement ( MCA ) for Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll road projects that seeks to moderate the traffic risk faced by private investors, a top official has overhauled MCA will drop the concept of competing roads and introduce a so-called buy-out principle by linking all parameters to traffic, V. Umashankar , Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said while addressing the ET Infra Roads and Highways Summit held in Delhi on July 18.'We are doing away with the concept of competing roads and additional toll ways and relating everything to traffic, which means that the need for disputes that are likely to arise will not now arise because these factors have been built in a different way,' Umashankar stated, noting that defining a competing road in India is 'very difficult'.According to the road ministry, 'competing road' means a road connecting the two end points of a highway and serving as an alternative route.'I have come across a case where in an arbitration somebody made a claim that a Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana road was also a competing road for a BOT concessionaire,' he said, describing how a 'loose definition' of competing facility prescribed in the MCA creates a dispute at a later stage.'That aspect we are tightening out and the single parameter would be traffic. If the traffic is not up to the threshold or it drops compared to previous years, then a mechanism automatically should kick in. Along with that, when a highway reaches the targeted traffic, then there will be a buyout principle. We can buy out so that we are not locked in and the expansion of the highway does not happen,' the Secretary changes are aimed at removing the 'uncertainty' and to make the MCA and the construction part 'more predictable' so that financing and construction becomes 'easier', thereby helping the highway authority to impose 'quality conditions' upon it.'We are rewriting the model concession agreement where we are moderating the traffic risk that is faced by a BOT concessionaire. There will be built-in mechanisms for extension or compensation in case traffic falls below the threshold and there will be a (revenue) sharing mechanism where the traffic goes beyond that threshold,' said Umshankar.'We are at the final stage of the MCA clearance and, hopefully, in a month's time we should be notifying it,' Umashankar revamping of the MCA comes close on the heels of the government's decision to revert to the BOT (Toll) model for developing highways after a gap of close to a a BOT Model, a private developer is responsible for financing, building and operating a highway project in which he is allowed to recover the investment by way of user charges or tolls for a specified BOT (Toll) Model is one of the key instruments adopted by the government for development of large-scale highway projects, but over the years it had fallen out of favour as developers faced challenges such as delay in land acquisitions, environmental clearance and fluctuation in traffic impacting toll revenues, among the revamped model concession agreement, it is expected that the government will enable provisions wherein changes to concession modalities will come about if the projected traffic undergoes variation by more than 5 per cent, than the earlier 20 per cent threshold, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra , had said in an interaction with ET Infra revamped model concession agreement related to BOT (Toll) Model is also expected to include significant changes related to land acquisition norms, forest clearances and other aspects related to pre-construction activities.'There were issues with the BOT concept. So, the first part of ensuring that we have a good BOT system in place is if we take care of the pre-construction issues -- land acquisition, forest clearances and others. On this again, we have issued a schedule saying at what time the project will be bid, at what time the project will be received based upon pre-construction activities,' said Umshankar.'Today, we will not even initiate the bidding process unless a wildlife clearance is received because that has an impact on cost. We won't receive the bids unless forest clearances are received,' he the existing norms, developers were exposed to operational risk at various stages of construction and were mandated to commence the work on the project after minimum acquisition of 80 per cent of the land required for the project.'What we (now) do is that we spend a little time on the appraisal, approval process and then the construction time gets spread out. We are planning to do it the other way, spend a little more time doing the pre-construction part and then get into the award so that the construction proceeds ahead smoothly. So, if you do that then you take the project construction risk significantly out of the game,' said government's endeavour to revive the BOT (Toll) Model has come at a time when budgetary allocation has reached a peak, with capital expenditure for 2025-26 at ₹11.11 lakh crore, a marginal increase from the previous year. The ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is now looking more at monetisation of brownfield highways and expressways rather than funding via debt and relying on budgetary that there has been a 'slight dip' in the highway award process, the Secretary said that 'it is also because this is the time to re-calibrate, re-consider and re-think because what we do now is going to stay with us for the next 50 years and that will be it'.The MCA for Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) road projects will also be revised, Umashankar added.
Time of India
20-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Unfinished bridge cuts off Bageshwar village from medical aid
Bageshwar: In Sorag, a remote Himalayan village in Kapkot tehsil of Bageshwar district, an unfinished bridge has become a grim symbol of official apathy, leaving residents cut off from basic medical care. With the long-promised structure still incomplete after four years, villagers are forced to carry the sick and injured on makeshift stretchers for miles across treacherous terrain. On Friday, 16-year-old Diwakar Danu, a Class 11 student, suffered a severe spinal injury after falling from a roof. With no motorable access to the village, locals carried him on a stretcher for 8km over rugged terrain to reach the nearest ambulance. Doctors at the district hospital confirmed a spinal fracture and advised complete bed rest. The incident has once again cast a spotlight on the long-stalled bridge project over the Pindar River. In 2021, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), an 11-km road was sanctioned to connect Sorag to the nearest main road. The construction agency, WAPCOS, was allocated Rs 4.5 crore to build the road and a 60-metre bridge. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo While the road has been completed, the bridge remains unfinished, rendering the route impassable for vehicles. The situation worsens during the monsoon, when river levels rise and isolation deepens. "Authorities built the road but left out the crucial bridge. Without it, we're still cut off. Even the temporary wooden bridge built by us was washed away during the monsoon," said Diwan Singh Danu, a resident. Nitin Soragi, another villager added, "Stretchers and palanquins have become our emergency transport. The bridge has been in limbo for years. Generations have waited." WAPCOS engineer Bishan Lal claimed the bridge between Ungiya and Sorag is "80% complete". "Shuttering and slab work remain. We expect to finish construction by winter," he added. Sorag isn't the only village struggling. In the Kalapair-Kapdi area, residents are using a risky trolley system to cross the Ramganga River after a suspension bridge collapsed. "We risk our lives every day. The alternative route takes several kilometres on foot," said Vijaya Koranga, a resident.
