Impact of Rural Roads in India: A Case Study Based on Spatial Data Analysis

Abstract

The Government of India launched its National Rural Roads Program known as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to connect the 167 thousand unconnected villages in the country by all-weather roads to improve connectivity there. It is important to study the impact of such intervention on various socio-economic indicators of rural development there. This study assesses the impact of those roads on the different aspects of rural community. The assessment has been completed based on spatial visualisation of the impact created by various facility parameters in rural development using various questionnaires formed and applied on a few selected blocks. Spatial data was collected and integrated using open-source software (QGIS) and statistical analysis has been performed to understand the percentage change in socio-economic indicators related to education, healthcare, agriculture, marketing and employment opportunities which are essential elements of the integrated rural development in India. The analysis appears helpful in estimating the sensitivity of government policies in the context, and thus understanding the requirement of policy changes and implementation in rural India.