Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Tuesday said that the state has achieved significant progress under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III.

The Public Works Department has successfully procured sanction for the construction of 3,123 kilometres of rural roads and 43 bridges at a total cost of Rs 3,345.81 crore.

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“PWD has made concerted efforts to expedite the execution of these works. So far, 517.334 kilometres of road length have been completed, incurring an expenditure of Rs 802.59 crore. This progress reflects the department’s commitment to improving rural connectivity in a time-bound manner,” he said.

During the financial year 2024-25, the expenditure under PMGSY stood at Rs 905 crore against the allocated Rs 650 crore, he said, adding that keeping in view this enhanced performance, the state government has formally requested the central government to double the allocation to Rs 1,300 crore for the year 2025-26.

He further informed that the PWD department was proactively working on PMGSY-IV.

“Mapping of 1,560 habitations has been completed, of which 1,115 were found eligible by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). So far, 862 habitations, including 102 under Stage I, have already been approved by the Ministry,” he stated.

He said that following a meeting with the Union Minister for Rural Development on 30 April, a high-level National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) team visited Shimla on May 2 and May 3.

The team held detailed discussions with PWD officials and assured that the 247 habitations previously rejected would be reconsidered on a case-by-case basis after proper verification, he said.

Singh said that the state has confirmed land availability for 151 of these 247 habitations and has requested their approval at the earliest. Once the approval process is completed, the state will be able to prepare approximately 250 Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) covering 1,400 kilometres under PMGSY-IV.

He said that this work is being carried out in a fast-track mode to ensure timely execution.