The Hindu : Warning against digging roads

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 21, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Warning against digging roads

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM JUNE 20. Under no circumstances would the Government allow the digging of newly laid or freshly repaired roads in the State in the first six months and there was no question of even Government agencies being exempted from this, said M. K. Muneer, the Minister for Public Works.

In reply to a series of questions in the State Assembly today, he said the Road Restoration Protocol in force in Karnataka would be enforced in Kerala as well.

All the details regarding the existing roads to be repaired or new roads to be laid would be made available on the Web site of the Department of Public Works. Any agency desirous of carrying out its work would be allowed to do so before the road works began, the Minister said.

A quality control group has been formed in the Public Works Department to assess the standard of works executed. This group had already detected shortcomings in several road works, he added.

Under the road development programme of the Kerala Transport Project, 57 bridges were to be built and 20 of them would be to replace the existing ones on the MC Road.

As per a survey conducted by RITES, 9000 km. of roads were in need of development. The previous Government had already accorded administrative sanction to 2,810 km.

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