Karnataka will get funds for construction of 2,245 km of roads in rural areas from the Union government under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) II in addition to funds for upgrading 10,153 km of roads constructed under PMGSY I.
Union Rural Development Minister, in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said PMGSY II was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 1 for further upgradation of rural roads. He said States, including Karnataka, which had received all sanctions for new connectivity and upgradation under PMGSY I would become eligible for the extended scheme.
The overall funds allocation under PMGSY schemes for the country would be Rs. 4,000 crore in the current financial year, Rs. 5,000 crore each for the next three financial years under the 12th Five Year Plan, he said.
Regarding upgradation of roads built under PMGSY I, Mr. Ramesh said those roads experiencing higher volume of traffic justifying upgradation to 5.5 m width could be taken up under the scheme. Those roads which did not get sanction under PMGSY I as well as freshly identified roads too could be taken up under the upgradation scheme, he said.
Since the launch of PMGSY on December 25, 2000, over 15,700 km of roads have been constructed connecting 269 habitations in Karnataka till March 2013.
The scheme envisages connecting all habitations having population of 500 persons and above (as per 2001 Census) in plain areas with all-weather roads including necessary culverts and cross drainages. While the Centre provides 75 per cent of the project cost, the State government has to bear the rest.
Indira Awaas Yojana
In another letter to Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Ramesh said the unit cost (per house) under Indira Awaas Yojana has been revised to Rs. 70,000 and Rs. 15,184 crore had been earmarked in 2013-14 for the project.
While the Union government was reworking the formula (based on housing shortage, poverty level, persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Minorities) for allocation of funds, a transition formula had been worked out for the current financial year. As per this formula, the target for Karnataka was 87,816 units, he said.
