Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath emphasised the need for promoting the use of alternative material like plastic for road construction to bring down cost and conserve mineral resources. The CM said that all-weather road network linking the remote areas of the State was a prerequisite for development of the State.
“The need of the hour is application of new technology which is suitable for climatic and geographical conditions of the country. A balance can be achieved only with the application of latest technology,’’ said Yogi while addressing a two-day ‘Lucknow Conference–application of new technology in road construction’ on Friday.
The two-day Lucknow conference on roads was oragnised by the State Government to deliberate on bringing down cost of construction roads and conserving environment and natural resources.
Asking engineers and scientists to develop technology for long lasting quality roads, the CM said, “New technology will not only reduce cost, but it will also help in reducing the use of mineral resources like stone, sand, bitumen and diesel in road construction.’’ Referring to making roads pothole-free undertaken by his Government soon after assuming office in March, Yogi said, “It was a challenging task for the government as we had inherited 1.21 lakh km of roads full of potholes. In places, it was difficult to differentiate betweeen road and fields.’’
“During the previous Government, roads were constructed without adhering to the laid down standards, yet we completed the task of making roads pothole-free. This was after Supreme Court banned mining and later National Green Tribunal passed orders against stone mining,’’ said Yogi.
PWD ministers from Assam, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Manipur also participated in the conference. While Chief Ministers of Bihar Nitish Kumar alongwith his counterparts from Uttarakahnd, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were likely to attend the conference on Saturday.
International road experts, scientists and experts from IITs and Central road research Institute (CRRI) also attending the conference. Manufacturers of latest machines from different countries and engineers from Indian Road Congress and other organizations are also participating in the conference.
A PWD officer said that the UP government presently has a budget of about Rs 18,000 crore for roads and buildings and the Chief Minister wants to bring down the cost of construction with application of new technology.