Ministry of Rural Development Government of India

1 Ministry of Rural DevelopmentGovernment of IndiaNew Delhi, May 2007 Address of Hon ble President of India to ParliamentthOn 25 February, 2005My Government proposes to undertake a major plan for rebuilding Rural India called Bharat Nirman. This will be a time-bound business plan for building Rural infrastructure in the areas of irrigation, roads, housing, water supply, electrification and telecommunication connectivity. The programme has been conceptualized as a platform on which the Government would construct its new deal for Rural Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of IndiathOn 16 December, 2005 Roads become a lifeline to new markets, new businesses, new incomes, and, above all, to new opportunities.

2 Even a narrow road can be a Highway to prosperity. Bharat Nirman would ensure that every village in India has access to markets, to services, to opportunities, indeed, to Raghuvansh Prasad SinghMinister of Rural Development , Govt. of IndiaUrban amenities should be available to people living in villages. If villages are provided with the facility of well-built good roads, nobody can stop India from moving towards top-ranking nations of the Rural Roads Development AgencyMinistry of Rural DevelopmentGovernment of IndiaNew DelhiMay, 2007 Rural ROADDEVELOPMENT PLAN: VISION 2025 Ministry of Rural Development3 PageForewordv-viPrafacevii-viiiExecutive Summary1-10 Abbreviations11-14 Chapter 1 :Socio-Economic Context15-22 Chapter 2 : Rural Roads: Role and Importance23-38 Chapter 3 :Connectivity: Achievements and Vision39-46 Chapter 4 : Rural Road Master Plans47-50 Chapter 5 :Design Standards51-60 Chapter 6 :Land Management61-62 Chapter 7.

3 Construction Technology63-67 Chapter 8 :Quality Systems69-73 Chapter 9 :Safety Aspects75-77 Chapter 10 :Environment Concerns and Afforestation Strategy79-86 Chapter 11 : Development and Maintenance Needs87-90 Chapter 12 :Financing Rural Roads91-94 Chapter 13 :Maintenance Strategies95-101 Chapter 14 :Employment Potential103-108 Chapter 15 :Material Requirements109-111 Chapter 16 :Panchayati Raj Institutions113-117 Chapter 17 :Research and Development119-122 Chapter 18 :Implementation Strategies123-132 Chapter 19:The Path Forward133-134 Appendix-1A Broad Assessment of Physical and Financial requirementsA1/1-5for Rural RoadsAppendix-2 Projection of Maintenance Expenditure for Roads and BridgesA2/1-4 Appendix-3 System of Panchayati Raj Institution for Execution of RuralA3/1-2 Roads Construction and Maintenance Works in GujaratAppendix-4 Training ModulesA4/1-3 CONTENTSM inistry of Rural Development5vRural Road Development Plan.

4 Vision 20256viMinistry of Rural Development7 The Government of India launched in December 2000, the programme of village connectivityknown as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) with the objective of connecting allunconnected habitations having a population of 500 and above with all-weather roads. Thepopulation threshold is relaxed to 250 in case of hill, tribal and desert departure from the earlier programmes of Rural road Development , the PMGSY is a hundredpercent funded programme of the central Government . The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has been entrusted with the task of implementing this programme.

5 The National RuralDevelopment Agency (NRRDA) an arm of the Ministry provides management and technicalsupport to this programme. The Ministry of Rural Development has already brought out dedicatedspecifications for Rural roads and Standard Data Book with the support of the Indian RoadsCongress. This has helped in setting national standards and specifications for Rural roads atnational level for uniform implementation at local level duly taking into account different terrain,soil and traffic conditions in the Hon ble Union Minister for Rural Development , Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh rightlyperceived that there is need for preparing a vision for Development of Rural roads that should gomuch beyond the current PMGSY and it should cover a 20-year time horizon.

6 Accordingly, theMinistry of Rural Development entrusted the task to the Indian Roads Congress since thisprofessional body of highway engineers had earlier been engaged in preparing long-term plans forroads for the would like to acknowledge the support of the IRC and particularly its Group of Expertscomprising Sarvashri D. P. Gupta, L. R. Kadiyali and P. K. Lauria, who have brought to bear theirprofound experience in preparation of the draft vision. The draft was reviewed by the SteeringPrefaceviiRural Road Development Plan: Vision 20258 Group of IRC headed by its President and discussed in the Council. The draft document receivedfrom the IRC was further deliberated upon by the Steering Committee of the MoRD, which waschaired by Shri J.

7 K. Mohapatra, Joint Secretary ( Rural Connectivity) and DG, NRRDA, andincluded Secretaries to the state governments dealing with Rural number of useful suggestions and comments were received both from the IRC Council and theSecretaries to the state governments. The document was thereafter reviewed and revised by theofficers of the NRRDA and the Ministry of Rural Development in consultation with the IndianRoads major areas covered in the Rural Road Development Plan: Vision 2025 relate to preparation ofdistrict Rural roads plans, targets of connectivity to all unconnected habitations of the countrygoing beyond the PMGSY norms, preservation of Rural roads assets, emphasis on engineered roadsand quality construction with judicious blend of labour and light machinery so that roads beingconstructed are durable on the one hand and use of local materials and local skills is maximized onthe other hand.

8 Reference has also been made to some promising international practices forsuitable adaptation in our context. The document also brings out implementation strategies withpriority being accorded to the flagship programme of the Government relating to Bharat Nirman,which includes Rural roads as one of its key leadership and guidance provided by the Hon ble Minister has brought the Vision Documentto its present shape. I sincerely believe that this document would guide the Centre and the States intheir efforts to formulate and implement the long term plans for the Development of Rural , 2007 Secretary, Rural DevelopmentNew DelhiGovernment of Indiaviii1 Ministry of Rural India launched the era of planned Development in 1951, she had a reasonably good railwaysystem, a few ports and around 400,000 km of serviceable road network.

9 Accessibility to villages waspoor as only about 20 percent of them had all-weather road links. The Government laid down a frameworkfor accelerated growth through investments in irrigation, power, heavy industry and transport. Side byside, stress was laid on provision of social infrastructure (education and health) and integrated ruraldevelopment including is continuing in social Development sectors so as to improve the quality of life andalleviate poverty. The Central Government have set up a National Committee on Rural Infrastructureunder the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister with the objective of improving Rural infrastructure in atime bound manner for overall Rural Development .

10 An initiative known as Bharat Nirman has beenannounced. This covers drinking water, housing, assured irrigation, telephone communications,electricity besides connectivity to villages by all-weather roads. Recently, another national level initiativeby way of Rural Employment Guarantee Programme has been launched with the twin objective ofemployment assurance and poverty reduction. The country hopes to attain the status of a developedcountry by the year 2020 with substantial achievements of UN Millennium Development Goals, layingfoundation for elimination of extreme poverty by the year Development of roads, the long-term 20-year plans viz Nagpur Plan (1943-61), Bombay Plan(1961-81), Lucknow Plan (1981-2001), Road Development Plan Vision :2021 formulated by Chief Engineersin-charge of roads under the aegis of the Indian Roads Congress has served as sound reference frameworkfor the central and state governments to formulate their successive Five Year Plans.