Public Works Department has constructed and improved 32,479 kilometer long road at a cost of Rs 15,204 crore during last 10 years.
Public Works Minister Nagendra Singh has informed that roads costing Rs 2,080 crore have been constructed during last year alone. Roads measuring 3,000 kilometers were upgraded and constructed and 46 bridges and 2 ROBs were constructed utilizing these funds. About 5000 km long roads were constructed during this period.
Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation has constructed and improved 1518 km long roads. These include construction of 672 km long state highways under BOT scheme, 218 km long main district roads, upgradation of 69 km long National Highways under NHDP-4 scheme, 157 km long roads under General Congract Scheme and upgradation, strengthening and renovation of 402 km long state highways with financial assistance of Asian Development Bank.
Singh informed that the department has also taken a number of important decisions during this period.
All works are being done through e-Tendering without any financial limit. Technical sanction is being accorded before administrative sanction to ensure acceleration in pace of work. Payments for all sanctioned works are being made through e-Payment, which is global-level payment system.
Additional performance guarantee is being sought in tenders of unworkable rates. This has been done to curb tendency of contractors to quote unworkable rates and ensure completion of work. Similar action is being taken for examining quality of work at field level and third-party verification and assessment. For this, Quality Monitors and Construction Supervision Consultants have been appointed.
Nagendra Singh informed that the department will set targets for next 4-5 years and act accordingly. Under the targets, State Highways will be maintained under OMT (Build, Maintain and Transfer) system. Construction of bypass roads and grade separators (flyovers) is proposed in high-density cities. The department will fix priority for reconstruction of 19,500 km long roads so that repeated damages to these roads can be checked. Ideal condition of preventive maintenance will be created in place of corrective maintenance.