Himachal Pradesh gets awards for road, rural development

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh has been conferred three awards under different categories by the Union ministry of rural development for best performance under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), 2017-18.
Additional chief secretary, (PWD) Manisha Nanda and chief engineer (PMGSY) A K Abrol received these awards on behalf of the state government from Union rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said the state has been awarded for the best overall performance in terms of quality in 2017-18 and has also been adjudged among the top three in maximum construction of roads and maximum construction of roads in length with green technology under PMGSY, 2017-18.
He said the state had overshot the target of 1,700 kms set by the Union government and built 1,773 km of roads. Of this, he said, 72 km of roads were constructed using green technology.
Since the state has overshot the target during 2017-18, this year, the target has been raised from 1,700 to 2,400 km, he said, adding that the public works department would do its best again.
He said greater connectivity had been provided to 59 habitations with a population of 1,000, 12 habitations of population between 500 to 999 and 43 habitations with population between 249 and 500. Besides, 18 bridges had also been constructed.
PMGSY played a significant role in strengthening road connectivity in rural areas and has special importance for Himachal Pradesh, where roads are the main mode of connectivity, Thakur said.
The hill state got the top rank in India Today's 2017 rankings for demonstrating capacity to build roads in tough terrain.
Five award for rural development department
Rural development minister Virender Kanwar said Himachal Pradesh has won five awards under various categories for good performance in rural development. He said the state bagged first rank for overall performance in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, Rural, second rank for innovative practices in National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and third rank in performance under Aadhar seeding and conversion. He said Tandi Gram Panchayat of Banjar block in Kullu district had been awarded best performing Gram Panchayat in implementation of MNREGA and Attika Aggarwal, GIS asset supervisor (GAS) Nahan block, was awarded third prize for GAS of the year.