PMGSY at 25: How Rural Roads Changed India — and Why the Next Phase Is About Maintenance, Not Mileage

Twenty-five years after its launch, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) stands as one of independent India’s most transformative — and costliest — rural infrastructure programmes. Conceived at a time when nearly half of India’s villages lacked all-weather road access, PMGSY fundamentally altered how rural India connects with markets, services and opportunities. As the scheme enters its second quarter-century, the central challenge is no longer building roads, but sustaining the gains they unlocked.

Why PMGSY was launched — and what problem it set out to solve

Launched in December 2000 by the government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was a direct response to rural isolation. At the turn of the millennium, close to 500,000 villages existed across India, and nearly half had no proper road connectivity.

With over 70% of Indians living in rural areas at the time, this meant hundreds of millions were effectively cut off from schools, hospitals, markets and employment. Poor connectivity was not merely an inconvenience; it was a structural barrier that trapped villages in low productivity, low mobility and limited social outcomes. PMGSY sought to address this deficit by providing all-weather road access as a basic public good.

How the programme was designed and rolled out

PMGSY adopted a phased rollout. In its initial phase, priority was given to villages with populations above 1,000, later extended to those above 500. In hilly, tribal and desert regions, even smaller habitations were included from the outset, recognising the unique geographical disadvantages they faced.

The programme has since evolved through multiple phases. Phase III, currently underway, focuses on last-mile connectivity and on upgrading or repairing roads built earlier. As of December 2024, 95% of sanctioned works under Phase I and 97% under Phase II had been completed. Around 25,000 villages remain under active coverage, as the programme works to finish remaining links and strengthen existing networks.

The scale of investment — and why it mattered

With cumulative expenditure touching ₹3.96 lakh crore, PMGSY ranks among the most expensive centrally sponsored schemes in India’s history. Yet the scale of spending reflects the scale of the problem it addressed.

Road connectivity has reshaped rural economies in deep and measurable ways. A substantial body of research shows that PMGSY has expanded non-farm employment, improved market access for farmers, encouraged adoption of modern agricultural inputs, strengthened informal firms and MSMEs, and reduced price gaps between villages and towns. Better roads have also enabled more diverse and nutritious diets by improving access to food markets.

Beyond economics: social and gender impacts

The effects of PMGSY go beyond income and productivity. Improved road access has significantly enhanced access to healthcare, especially for women, by reducing travel time to medical facilities. Educational outcomes have also improved.

Evidence suggests that road connectivity has raised school enrolment among girls, increased women’s mobility, and contributed to gradual but meaningful shifts in gender norms. These are slow-moving changes, but they point to how physical infrastructure can catalyse social transformation in deeply rooted ways.

The persistent problems beneath the success

Despite its achievements, PMGSY has long struggled with implementation weaknesses. Delays in construction, poor quality control and weak oversight have been recurring concerns. Multiple studies have found that some roads officially marked as “completed” either do not exist on the ground or are in a severely degraded condition.

Rapid deterioration is common in many regions, driven by poor materials, inadequate drainage and the absence of systematic maintenance. Political interference in tendering has also been flagged, with allegations that contracts are often awarded to firms with political connections, undermining competition and construction quality.

Why maintenance is now the central challenge

The most pressing issue facing PMGSY today is upkeep. Roads are not one-time achievements; without regular maintenance, they become unusable within a few years. A build-and-forget approach risks eroding the very gains the programme created.

Going forward, three priorities stand out. First, maintenance must be institutionalised through dedicated funding, routine inspections and clearly assigned responsibility. Second, accountability needs strengthening at every stage — from tendering to execution — using tools such as geotagged photographs, GPS-based monitoring and community reporting systems to ensure roads exist and function in reality, not just on paper. Third, evaluation metrics must change. Success should be judged not by kilometres built or money spent, but by usability and durability: do roads remain motorable during the monsoon, can children reach schools year-round, and can farmers reliably transport produce?

From expansion to consolidation

Over the past 25 years, PMGSY has helped weave India’s villages into the national fabric, offering millions a pathway to economic and social mobility. The next phase will determine whether these gains endure.

If the coming decades are to match — or surpass — the achievements of the last 25 years, the programme must shift focus from expansion to consolidation, from building new roads to sustaining old ones. The road ahead is clear. Whether India travels it well will depend on how seriously it treats maintenance, accountability and long-term impact.