As per the programme Guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), ensuring the quality of the road works is the responsibility of the respective State governments. The Ministry of Rural Development has issued general guidelines on quality control and has prescribed Quality Assurance Handbook for Rural Roads to regulate the quality control processes, at the work level.
There is a three-tiered Quality Control mechanism for ensuring the construction of quality road works and durability of road assets under PMGSY. Under the first tier, the Programme Implementation Units (PIUs) are required to ensure process control through mandatory tests on material and workmanship at the field laboratory. The second tier is a structured independent quality monitoring at the State level through State Quality Monitors (SQMs) to ensure that every work is inspected at the initial stage, middle stage and final stage of construction. Under the third tier, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are deployed by the central Government for random inspection of road and bridge works to monitor quality and also to provide guidance to the field functionaries. In addition to this, the quality issues are also reviewed in detail with the States in various Regional Review Meetings and Pre-Empowered/Empowered Committee Meetings by the Ministry.
The implementation of all sanctioned works is being monitored through an online programme Monitoring Information System named Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS) on a real-time basis.
Quality Management System (QMS) Application is a quality monitoring application, used by National Quality Monitors/ State Quality Monitors for their field visit. All the inspections conducted by them are recorded through this App by recording geo-tagged photographs and quality monitoring observations, which are then automatically uploaded on OMMAS.
A Mobile App “Meri Sadak” was launched on 20th July 2015 with the view to achieving the objectives of e-governance and Digital India for user-friendly and transparent Citizen Feedback and complaint redressal system. The citizens, with the use of this application, can express their concerns related to slow pace, abandoned work or quality of PMGSY works.
As per PMGSY guidelines, maintenance of roads constructed under the programme is the responsibility of the State Governments and all road works are covered by initial five-year maintenance contracts to be entered into along with the construction contract, with the same contractor, as per the Standard Bidding Document. Maintenance funds to service the contract are required to be budgeted by the State Governments and placed at the disposal of the State Rural Roads Development Agencies (SRRDAs) in a separate maintenance account. On the expiry of the 5-year post-construction maintenance, PMGSY roads are required to be placed under Zonal maintenance contracts consisting of 5-year maintenance including renewal as per maintenance cycle, from time to time, which are also financed by the state governments.
As per the programme guidelines, the tendering, execution and ensuring the quality of construction to the prescribed standard is the responsibility of the State Government concerned. The states being the implementing agencies for execution of PMGSY works, taking action/imposing penalty on defaulting contractors in the execution of PMGSY works is vested with the State.
