Patna: Rural works department (RWD) minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary announced on Friday that 25,000km of rural roads in Bihar will undergo systematic reconstruction, upgradation, renewal and maintenance. This will be carried out under the Bihar Rural Roads Strengthening and Management Scheme (BRRSMS), recently approved by the state cabinet. "The investment for this initiative will amount to Rs 20,000 crore," Choudhary added.
The state has a total of 1.17 lakh km of rural roads, of which 25,000km have exceeded their five-year routine maintenance period and require urgent repair and reconstruction. "The aim is to ensure their riding quality meets set standards for a long period of seven years," the RWD communiqué said. It added that the roads would have a "design life of 10 years" with a provision for black topping twice during the seven-year period.
Choudhary, who was accompanied by RWD additional chief secretary (ACS) Dipak Kumar Singh and other senior officials, highlighted the uniqueness of Bihar's maintenance policy. "Earlier, the RWD ACS had discussed the govt's decision regarding the formulation of BRRSMS with the central govt. It was revealed that Bihar is the first and only state to have such a maintenance policy for rural roads in the country," he said.
Singh added, "The current condition of the 25,000km of rural roads has been assessed and block-wise mapping has been completed. Any person will soon be able to identify these roads in their block through a public app that will be made available in the next fortnight." According to Singh, only 10-15% of the roads are in bad condition, while the rest are in good to slightly bad conditions.
In the first phase of BRRSMS, the contractor agency will complete patch-filling work by June next year, Choudhary said. Reconstruction, upgradation and renewal will then be carried out in a planned manner. "The contractor agency will mandatorily maintain a rapid response vehicle to repair defects within a stipulated time. Failure to do so will result in deductions from their invoices. The terms for agencies are comprehensive and stringent, including punitive measures like blacklisting non-compliant companies," Singh added.
The minister also highlighted the revival of the Mukhyamantri Gramin Setu Yojana, under which 1,000 bridges are planned for construction.
Choudhary said since 2013, 31,593km of roads and bridges have been constructed to connect villages with a population of 250 people under the Mukhyamantri Gram Sampark Yojana.
PATCH
‘Focus on quality control '
RWD additional chief secretary Dipak Kumar Singh on Friday said that Bihar's rural roads face stress due to increased traffic, including heavy vehicles like trucks and damage from floodwaters. While the design life of these roads is 10 years, traffic growth in Bihar is 19%, compared to the national average of 6%, he said.
"To address this, the RWD has implemented better monitoring and quality control mechanisms. The preparation of detailed project reports has been streamlined and the number of consultants increased to manage workloads effectively," Singh added.