The system will help the civic road department prioritise its work. (File Photo)The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) claims about the total length of roads in its jurisdiction, and the number of streetlights, may not be quite right, as per the Road Asset Management System (RAMS) of the Pune Smart City project. While the civic body claims that it has 2,200 km of roads and one lakh street lights in its areas, RAMS, an initiative by the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd (PSCDCL), puts the total length of roads at 1,400 km and number of street light poles at 80,000.
As per the data collected for the city road network under RAMS, the existing road length is 1,398.65 km. “The PMC has been claiming for a long time that it has a road network of 2,200 km, but RAMS has found that the road length is around 1,400 km. We have communicated the same to the PMC for verification,” said a PSCDCL officer.
While the civic body has claimed that there are around one lakh streetlights within the civic jurisdiction, RAMS has found only 81,479.
However, a PMC official said, “The total number of poles with the PMC electric department also includes poles in the premises of civic properties like offices, gardens, cultural halls, schools and hospitals”. The data collected by RAMS also reveals that there are footpaths on only half of the total length of roads: 716 km, and the length of sewage water drainage system is 630 km.
Rajendra Jagtap, chief executive officer of PSCDCL, said, “The data collection for the first year is complete. It is under the process of validation and integration with the PMC Enterprise Geographical Information System (GIS) system. The PMC road department is reviewing the data and will make suggestions about it. The first maintenance management report of the RAMS project is proposed to be submitted for the budget of 2019-2020”.
He said RAMS will enable the the civic road department to manage information efficiently, which can use it to make crucial decisions on prioritisation of roads, with regard to repair and maintenance, especially as resources are limited.
“This is very useful information for the municipal authorities, as it will help plan the budgetary requirements based on a scientific and rational analysis of the present road condition… A RAMS based on a GIS platform further enhances the capability of the engineer in making informed decisions by observing different road network conditions and design parameters on a colour-coded road network map,” he said. The GIS-enabled capability would help share valuable construction and project information with other municipal departments to coordinate activities and minimise frequent digging and subsequent damage to roads, said the PSCDCL chief.
RAMS is also likely to resolve the issue of duplication of works by the road department and ward office, as each road will be provided an unique ID and it shall be further divided into road sections.
