The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) led by Cabinet Minister Nitin Gadkari may lose the responsibility of building roads and bridges in the Maoist-affected States as the NDA government wants to replicate the success of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in these areas. The PMGSY, the brainchild of former Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which was launched in 2004, is implemented by the Rural Development Ministry. The government will soon move a Cabinet note for the same.
Maoist-related incidents touched a five-year low in 2015, with 1,006 incidents reported this year as compared to 1,760 in 2011.
The Centre is working on an ambitious plan for seamless connectivity between the 10 Naxal-affected States and is all set to launch the Road Requirement Plan-II.
“The RRP-II will no longer be handled by the Road Ministry as it didn’t do full justice to the projects under RRP-I, which was launched in 2009 and still 30% of the road network taken up by the Ministry is yet to be completed. Since Maoist districts are all in rural areas, the government has decided to put the onus on the Rural Development Ministry and we will implement PMGSY here,” said a senior official.
