Major changes in road upkeep on the anvil

By S.Rajendran

BANGALORE, MAY 6. The major scheme to upgrade the State Highways -- being undertaken for the first time after the reorganisation of States -- will ensure that the quality of roads in the State is better than that of the national highways.

Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are the other States in the country which have undertaken a similar scheme with assistance from the World Bank. The implementation of the scheme in Gujarat has been delayed due to the earthquake that rocked that State in January last.

The Rs. 2,030-crore World Bank assisted scheme for improving the State highways will bring about certain drastic changes in the upgradation and upkeep of roads in the State. The local contractors and the Public Works Department will be kept away, and the contract for implementing the scheme will be given through international competitive bidding. The scheme will be monitored by consultants selected through international bidding. These conditions laid out by the World Bank will be a blessing in disguise for the people of the State who have been craving for better roads for several decades.

Under the scheme, the State Government will be spending nearly Rs. one crore per km., which is marginally higher than the expenditure incurred on the national highways. With close supervision and contractors being assigned the work on international competitive bidding, the Government is confident that the State highways would be better than the national highways.

The Minister for Public Works, Mr. Dharam Singh, told The Hindu here on Saturday that the meeting of the board of directors of the World Bank, which was to be held in June (to ratify the loan approval for the State), had been advanced to May 24. This indicated that funds would be available earlier than expected, and the State would commence the first phase of the scheme by September. The second phase would be implemented in March next. The World Bank loan would be routed to the State through the Department of Economic Affairs of the Union Government.

Of the Rs. 2,030-crore loan sought by the State, the Centre would grant 70 per cent of the amount as loan (from funds obtained by it from the World Bank), and the rest (Rs. 395 crores) would be given as grants. The State had to repay the loan within 25 years with a five-year moratorium on repayment.

The State, which had 49,000 km. of roads at the time of the reorganisation of States, now had 1.27-lakh km., including the State highways, major district roads, zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat roads and village roads. Shortage of funds, apart from corruption and poor maintenance, had led to the deterioration in the quality of the State highways and other roads. There was no visible improvement, though the Government had allocated huge funds for the development of roads. An arrangement had been made now to ensure that funds from the World Bank were utilised in a proper manner, he said.

Mr. Singh said the State had 10,800 km. of highways, which linked the districts, apart from connecting them with the national highways. Under the World Bank-assisted scheme, 2,300 km. of State highways would be attended to, and 1,000 km. of roads would be upgraded and maintained by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation (KRDC). Under the scheme, the Bangalore-Mysore Highway would be improved in the current year. The work on the State highways would be completed in about three years, involving about 25 contractors, he added.

Meanwhile, the State would also take up construction of bridges in a big way. About 75 of the 153 bridges, planned under HUDCO assistance, would be ready this month. The Government had decided to construct 27 more bridges on a build, operate and transfer basis. Most of the work pertained to replacing the existing bridges. This was another programme undertaken in the State for the first time after the reorganisation of States, Mr. Singh said.

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