SRINAGAR: The Government of India has set a target of conducting 1,399 inspections of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) projects in Jammu & Kashmir during the current financial year.
In a letter addressed to the J&K government, the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) of the Ministry of Rural Development has requested the State Quality Monitors (SQMs) to carry out 1,399 inspections of PMGSY works in the Union Territory (UT) during 2023-24. Out of these, 1,215 inspections should focus on roads, while 184 inspections should be dedicated to bridges, as stated in the letter.
As per the PMGSY operations manual, each project should be inspected at least three times by the State Quality Monitors at specific construction stages. The inspections are conducted by National Quality Monitors and State Quality Monitors in respective states and Union Territories.
The letter emphasizes that the inspection targets for SQMs in the current year have been established based on the pending projects and recently completed ones. It urges the J&K government to ensure the formulation of an annual plan for SQM inspections to meet the required number of inspections. NRIDA will monitor these targets at regular intervals.
Previously, the J&K government faced criticism from the central authorities for the lack of inspections on projects executed under the PMGSY. In a pre-empowered committee meeting on December 9, 2021, the Centre urged the J&K administration to address the slow pace of SQM inspections and pay attention to this issue, highlighting the importance of timely and thorough inspections. (KNO)
