After doing intensive work to rid the roads of Uttar Pradesh of potholes and to improve the connectivity of villages with cities by building link roads between villages, blocks and district headquarters, the Yogi Adityanath government is now focusing on accelerating construction of roads as well as their repair and maintenance in urban areas.

In line with this, the state government has started the process of constituting a project management unit (PMU) to implement and inspect repair, maintenance and proposed construction of urban roads.

“The Urban Road Infrastructures Development Agency (URIDA), formed for the maintenance of urban roads of the state, has invited applications through Request for Proposal (RFP) to allot work to the agency as a PSU (public sector undertaking),” a government spokesman said here on Wednesday.

According to the applications submitted for the identification of PSUs by URIDA, the selected agency, after evaluation, will play the role of a knowledge partner while working as a PSU. As per the CM Grid Scheme, the PSU must ensure the determination of guidelines, policy formulation and implementation. It will study existing guidelines, standards and legal notifications and give them their final form.

The guidelines will be framed to fill the gaps in the planning, design, construction, implementation, management and maintenance of all types of urban roads and intersections in Uttar Pradesh.

In addition to promoting the use of alternative construction technologies, the development of a Green Schedule of Rates (Green SOR) for rate schedules, a scoring mechanism for road selection, compliance verification for approval and conceptual design for all types of roads and intersections, as well as standard and template preparation of DPR (detailed project report) and quantity bills, and implementation plans will also be required.

The agency, which will get the opportunity to act as PMU for URIDA, will have to prepare a model document for the selection of contractors for the execution of projects, which will lead to simplification of the process. Additionally, it will also prepare standard operating procedures (SOP) for the planning, execution, construction, management and maintenance of urban roads.

Moreover, it will be involved in the development of human resource policy for URIDA, preparation of organisation structure, development of procurement guidelines and related documents, and development of any other policies, guidelines and standards as required.

The agency selected as PMU for URIDA will develop a curriculum for engineers, policymakers and contractors for the design, implementation and maintenance of urban roads. The agency acting as PMU will also help in providing training to the officials concerned of the urban local bodies (ULBs) and other stakeholders related to the project and cost-effective roads by URIDA.

The PMU will also work to provide assistance in developing guidelines, drawing standard templates and standard operating procedures related to the execution, operation, management and maintenance of projects under the CM Grid Scheme.