The two-day Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Chintan Shivir was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 5-6 October 2026, bringing together senior officers and representatives from States/UTs, policymakers, technical experts, knowledge partners, and other stakeholders to deliberate on future actions for strengthening rural road connectivity through PMGSY. Over the past 25 years, PMGSY has constructed around 8 lakh km of rural roads, with PMGSY-IV having an outlay of ₹70,125 crore to target construction of 62,500 km of all-weather roads to provide connectivity to 25,000 eligible unconnected habitations.
Union Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasized greater use of digital technologies, GPS-based monitoring, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for field verification, monitoring, and timely decision-making. He stressed the importance of timely completion of ongoing works, expeditious preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and tendering, improved construction quality, preventive maintenance, and stronger accountability at all levels.
Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Kamlesh Paswan highlighted the need for close monitoring of pending and delayed works, particularly in difficult and North-Eastern areas, and emphasized stronger contractor responsibility during the stipulated five-year maintenance period. He urged states to timely complete works and adopt green technologies in PMGSY construction.
Secretary of Rural Development Shri Rohit Kansal apprised the gathering of new initiatives incorporated under PMGSY to support the existing system through transparent mechanisms. He stressed that maintenance and quality are non-negotiable aspects under the scheme and urged state representatives to work in mission mode with proper action plans for better delivery.
The Chintan Shivir featured expert discussions from CRRI, NDMA, and CDRI on disaster- and climate-resilient rural roads, emerging construction technologies, sustainable materials, and AI-enabled digital monitoring systems. An expert officer from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) shared valuable insights into constructing roads in challenging terrains, offering important learnings for hilly, remote, and border areas.
Key takeaways from the deliberations included promoting climate-resilient, sustainable, and locally appropriate designs and materials; leveraging OMMAS, GPS-VTS, AI, geo-tagged evidence, and data analytics for transparent monitoring; strengthening accountability between MoRD, NRIDA, and States/UTs; timely completion of ongoing works; expeditious preparation of PMGSY-IV DPRs; and placing quality assurance and preventive maintenance at the core of implementation.
The event reaffirmed the government's commitment to building quality, sustainable, climate-resilient, and technology-enabled rural road infrastructure that delivers lasting socio-economic benefits to rural communities, viewing rural roads as vital links connecting farmers to markets, children to educational institutions, and patients to healthcare services.