Robust road connectivity between urban and rural areas is essential for enabling balanced development in a country. The Indian government recognises the significance of vast road coverage and regional integration in facilitating trade, improving access to healthcare and education and fostering overall economic development. It has placed a special focus on rural connectivity under the ambit of schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Bharatmala Pariyojana, while several state governments have ambitiously undertaken projects to lay a wide network of state-level roads. These initiatives are collectively paving the way for a more well-connected and sustainable road network.
Rural road development
The expansion of infrastructural connectivity to rural India unlocks significant potential for economic growth. The centre is focused on expanding the road network to rural and remote areas. In line with this, its flagship PMGSY programme has been successful in improving rural road connectivity. Phases I and II of the programme have been completed, while Phase III is currently under implementation. Under PMGSY III, the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned 88 roads spanning over 780 km and 55 bridges. In addition, the scope of the programme has been expanded with the approval of Phase IV in September 2024. This initiative, worth Rs 701.25 billion, focuses on further improving rural road infrastructure with the construction of 62,500 km of roads by 2028-29. With this, it will provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 unconnected rural habitations. This is expected to drive socio-economic development in these areas by connecting nearby educational, healthcare and market centres. Most importantly, this scheme is pioneering the sustainable construction of rural roads to mitigate environmental damage. It promotes the use of advanced technologies such as cold mix technology and the reuse of waste plastic, fly ash, steel slag and panelled cement concrete in construction activities. Under the scheme, nearly 40,000 km of rural roads have been constructed using plastic waste as of October 2024, while 13,000 km has been completed over the past two years. Moreover, efforts are being made by the central government to enhance rural road connectivity in the northeastern region under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan scheme. In line with this, under the scheme, the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned 42 roads in Tripura with a length of over 118 km at an estimated investment of Rs 1.14 billion.
The flagship programme Bharatmala Pariyojana also focuses on the enhancement of regional connectivity, especially in rural and remote areas. Phase I envisions the construction of 34,800 km of national highways by 2027-28. As of July 2024, more than 18,100 km has been constructed and over 26,400 km has been awarded under the scheme.
Recently, several states have made efforts to expedite projects for rural road development. For instance, in September 2024, the Rajasthan government allocated funds worth Rs 1.5 billion to the Public Works Department of Jaipur for the development of around 400 km of rural roads in six assembly constituencies, namely, Khinwsar, Deoli-Uniara, Jhunjhunu, Chaurasi, Malpura and Tonk. Similarly, in July 2024, the Gujarat government gave in-principle approval for Rs 14.7 billion to improve road infrastructure in industrial, quarry and rural areas. Under its Gujarat Rural Road Programme, the New Development Bank signed a loan agreement worth around Rs 40 billion in January 2024 to construct and improve approximately 13,500 km of rural roads in Gujarat. Similarly, the Tamil Nadu government has laid over 13,700 km of road in rural areas in the past three years. It also announced the second phase of the Rural Road Development Programme in June 2024. It will target improving 10,000 km of rural roads for Rs 40 billion over the next two years. Moreover, over the past three years, the state government has sanctioned the construction of over 16,500 km of roads and 425 flyovers for Rs 93.24 billion under multiple schemes, including the Rural Roads Development Programme, the NABARD Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and the Village Road Scheme. These efforts aimed at enhancing rural road infrastructure will continue over the next two years.
State development strides
State highways and road networks are being rapidly laid by state governments to facilitate inter-and intra-state trade and passenger movement. Rapid project awarding, especially with the completion of the general elections, is driving the expedited execution of projects to achieve annual targets. As per India Infrastructure Research, during January-September 2024, road contracts worth over Rs 2,600 billion have been awarded across the states and union territories. Of these, the majority of the contract value (approximately 92 per cent) was awarded to the top 10 states with the highest contract value. These contracts account for a road length of over 14,000 km. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the front runner states with the maximum share of upcoming road length.
Rajasthan’s state-level road construction has received an impetus under the state budget for 2024-25. Around Rs 20 million has been sanctioned for the preparation of a detailed project report for the upgradation of a 62 km stretch from the Mandal Bhilwara and Haripura intersection to Devgarh in Rajsamand district into a four-lane road. Various other road projects are also picking up pace. These include the Ramganjmandi ring road, a semi circular ring road in western Pratapgarh, and improvements to the Kotda-Devla and Bharatpur-Alwar routes. Plans are also under way to widen the Kota-Kaithun-Dharnaoda road to connect with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at the Balapura junction, along with the construction of a bypass across Bapawar-Sangod-Kaithun.
The way forward
As the sector progresses towards a uniform road infrastructure, the government is targeting to build an additional 125,000 km of rural roads under PMGSY III by March 2025. There is also a higher focus on deploying eco-friendly techniques along with improving road safety in rural areas. Further, at the state level, an investment of around Rs 3.8 trillion is expected to be mobilised by 2028-29, based on projects tracked by India Infrastructure Research. These funds will be routed towards state-level projects at different stages of implementation. More than 300 projects are currently at the ongoing, awarded and bidding stages, while over 65 projects have been announced, approved or at the DPR preparation stage. Moreover, of the total upcoming projects, around seven are likely to be implemented on a public-private partnership basis at an investment of around Rs 125 billion. These primarily involve the development of elevated corridors and ring roads. There lies a similar opportunity for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors as well. Over 150 EPC projects are currently under bidding or have been announced/approved, entailing an investment of over Rs 1.1 trillion.
