Shillong, Jan. 23: The Meghalaya public works department will submit the first set of detailed project reports (DPRs) for the implementation of the sixth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to the Union ministry of rural development by the end of this month.

PWD chief engineer (standard) and empowered officer for PMGSY, M.M. Sun said, “The DPRs have been prepared for the first batch of projects of Rs 100 crore. However, before submitting to the Union ministry, they will be first sent to the state technical agency of IIT Guwahati for modification.”

“Phase six of the PMGSY will be implemented through World Bank funding and the first batch of DPRs relates to the construction of new roads in various destinations of the state,” Sun said. “More DPRs will be prepared to speed up the implementation of PMGSY projects,” he added.

On December 20, Union minister of state for rural development Agatha K. Sangma had announced that the World Bank would fund Rs 1,071 crore for road connectivity in the state under PMGSY Rural Road Project (RRP)-II.

She said this after holding a review meeting with state government officials on the implementation of PMGSY in Meghalaya.

The state is lacking in the implementation of the scheme as it had just crossed the fifth phase while other states have already started implementing the ninth phase.

The state has also been pulled up for the late preparation and submission of DPRs. The delay has been attributed to the shortage of manpower.

Therefore, Sangma had stressed on the need to prioritise the scheme and strengthen the manpower in the PMGSY cell of the state.

Sun said, “Manpower in the department will soon be enhanced, as the process of appointing 70 junior engineers and 20 assistant engineers is almost complete.”

Sun also said, “The Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) had recently recommended the appointment of 70 junior engineers while the department had also conducted interviews for recruiting 20 assistant engineers.”

The proposed PMGSY RRP-II is a $1.5 billion operation which will use a programmatic approach to support implementation of the PMGSY programme over a five year period (2011-2015) in the participating states — Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Under component A, Rs 1,071 crore has been earmarked for Meghalaya for over a period of five years.

Under the first phase, it has been proposed to provide connectivity to 83 habitations by constructing 262km road at an estimated cost of Rs 171 crore.

In the second phase, road connectivity will be provided to 432 habitations by constructing 1,363km road at an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore.