PANAJI
Village roads across Goa could soon be assigned unique alphanumeric codes and geospatial identifiers as the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj proposes a nationwide road coding and grading system aimed at improving rural governance, navigation and public service delivery.
The Ministry has released a public consultation document proposing a standardized, geocoded framework for identifying and classifying all intra-village roads, including those maintained by Gram Panchayats. The initiative seeks to address the absence of a uniform database for internal village roads, which currently hampers emergency response, postal services, logistics, digital mapping and infrastructure planning.
If implemented, village roads would be classified into categories such as Main Roads, Cross Roads and Other Roads, with each road receiving a unique alphanumeric code linked to DIGIPIN, the Department of Posts' digital address system, and integrated with Gram Manchitra, the Ministry's geospatial planning platform. The coding would also align with the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) road codification standards.
The consultation paper notes that roads built through Finance Commission grants, MGNREGA, state schemes and other local funds currently lack a systematic GIS-based database, with agencies following different standards that often result in duplication and inconsistencies.
A senior official said that the panchayat department is currently studying the proposed framework in detail and has circulated the consultation document to all village panchayats seeking their feedback. “Panchayats have been asked to submit their suggestions either through the department or directly to the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj as part of the ongoing public consultation process,” an official said.
Official said that the proposed system will create a searchable database of village roads, improve transparency by preventing duplication of works across government schemes, support planned maintenance and preserve the history of infrastructure activities undertaken on each road. “It is also expected to strengthen emergency services, postal delivery, logistics and monitoring of rural development projects,” official explained.
The proposal is particularly significant for Goa, where the Goa Panchayat Raj Act already empowers Gram Panchayats to codify village streets. The consultation document cites Goa among the states whose Panchayat laws provide for such powers, although practices currently remain decentralised and vary across jurisdictions.
The state has 191 village panchayats and as per PWD, the total length of village roads managed and recorded is around 3,768 kms. The Ministry has invited feedback from stakeholders on the proposed framework before finalising the nationwide road coding system.
