PMGSY: Centre receives 860 complaints from Assam, 337 from other NE states

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Central Government receiving as many as 1,197 complaints regarding the implementation of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Assam and other states in the Northeast in the past six financial years is a cause of concern for Assam. Most of the complaints are from Assam.

The complaints were sent through the Meri Sadak app. Another cause of concern for Assam in PMSGSY roads is that national quality monitors (NQMs) have tagged some of the roadworks in the state as "unsatisfactory". The Assam PWD implements the PMGSY with funds from the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

According to information available with The Sentinel, the financial-year-wise number of complaints regarding the implementation of PMGSY roads in Assam is 47 in 2020-21; 117 in 2021-22; 76 in 2022-23; 196 in 2023-24; 309 in 2024-25; and 115 in 2025-26. The total number of complaints from the state is 860, the highest from the Northeast. People from other northeastern states filed a total of 337 complaints in the past six financial years: 106 from Arunachal Pradesh, 62 from Manipur, 95 from Tripura, 38 from Meghalaya, 20 from Sikkim, and eight each from Nagaland and Mizoram.

With the maximum complaints regarding PMGSY roads sent to the centre from Assam, the state PWD engineers working in the field should ensure there is no compromise in the quality of works.

From April 2024 to January 28, 2026, NQM carried out 365 inspections in Assam and tagged 22.7 per cent of the road 'unsatisfactory'.

According to information from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), ensuring the quality of roadworks is the responsibility of the respective state governments that implement the programmes. There is a three-tier quality control mechanism for ensuring the construction of quality road works and the 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 materials and workmanship at the field laboratory. The second tier is 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 the construction. Under the third tier, independent National Quality Monitors (NQMs) are deployed for random inspections of roadworks to monitor quality and also to provide guidance from senior professionals to field functionaries.

Also Read: MLA Lays Foundation for the Road Linking Hatsingimari to Kharuabandha Under PMGSY Scheme