Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Subjected to harsh criticism for excessive damage to roads during monsoons, the Public Works Department (PWD) has decided to opt for a systematic policy change for road maintenance.
It has decided to adopt a Short-Term Maintenance Contract (STMC) and a Performance-Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC) system of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and subsequently carry out a survey of roads for maintenance.
Under the STMC system, repair works of potholes and ruts, joint repair of cement concrete route, shoulder repair work, maintenance of bridges, signboards, road marking, and crash barrier works will be done.
Meanwhile, the PBMC works have been divided into three categories: primary repair works, periodic maintenance, and routine maintenance.
The primary repair works will cover the repair works of hole cracks and ruts, maintenance of bridges, culverts, etc., the periodic maintenance work will cover the wearing cost of bridges and culverts, profile correction course, etc.
Once the primary repair work and the periodic maintenance work are done, the contractor will have to do the work in the remaining period, which ensures a high level of service. The PWD has called for a survey of routes for the STMC and the PBMC works. Apart from this, the PWD is also going for an annual audit of roads.
PWD Principal Secretary Sukhbeer Singh said to Free Press, “A systematic policy change is being introduced for road maintenance. Along with this, an annual audit of roads will be done, which will ensure a good riding quality and will help in dealing with road maintenance issues.”
Notably, the PWD maintains around 1.5 lakh kilometres of roads across Madhya Pradesh and comes under fire as roads are easily damaged due to waterlogging during the monsoon.
