Bangalore: The State government will soon take up repair of roads, State highways and major district roads, damaged due to heavy rains at a cost of Rs 500 crore, Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Public Works Department (PWD) has obtained reports on damage to roads from all districts. Repair of about 60,000 km of roads will be taken up once the rains subside. Directions have been issued to complete the work and make the roads motorable by March next year, he added.The PWD recently revised its code (also called D-code), making a provision for using new technology like e-billing and e-tracking of projects.
The new code has spelt out the role and responsibility of the officials, including assistant executive engineers. A separate post called registrar has been created to ensure quality in public works, including roads and bridges. These initiatives help prevent corruption and substandard implementation of works, he said.
He said about 50,000 km of State highways have been brought under the payment management system, wherein contractors’ bills towards implementation of public works will be cleared online. The entire road network in the State will be brought under the system soon, he added.
The National Highways Authority of India has commenced the survey of the Bangalore-Mysore national highway, to upgrade it into a six-lane road to decongest it. Currently, the highway is a four-lane road.
On the expansion of Mysore airport, Mahadevappa said the State government has proposed to build a tunnel road as an alternative to changing the alignment of the Mysore-Nanjangud highway.
But the Airports Authority of India has rejected the plan, citing security reasons. The State government has been seriously pursuing the expansion project and it will soon hold a meeting with the Centre in this regard, he added.
Bungalows for ministers
He said the PWD has been scouting for land close to Vidhana Soudha to construct bungalows for ministers. The plan is to construct about 25 office-cum-residential bungalows. Currently, there are only 15 government bungalows for the ministers. The total requirement is 40, including for ministers, opposition leaders and presiding officers of the legislature.
