The Union Rural Development Ministry has asked the Odisha Government to use the cold mix technology for construction of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday, Union Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh said that as per the “Guidelines on Technology Initiative under PMGSY” issued by his Ministry and the National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA), the cold mix technology is cost-effective and can be used as an alternative to hot mix bituminous surface in the construction of PMGSY roads.
“In the cold mix technology, waste plastic modified bitumen, cold mix, etc, and marginal materials like fly-ash etc are used for construction of roads that is cheaper in comparison to hot mix bituminous surface technology in the construction of PMGSY roads,” he said, adding that the new technology can be used round the clock.
Reminding the Chief Minister that the NRRDA had recently sent five copies relating to the cold mix technology by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) to the State Government, Ramesh said his Ministry, through the IRC, had also published the revised edition of ‘Book of Specifications’, which includes specifications of the new technology.
He also informed that the state can also change the scope of work from hot mix surfacing to cold mix surfacing under PMGSY guidelines with prior approval either from the ministry or the NRRDA with a focus on timely completion of already sanctioned works in the IAP districts.