Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu Stresses on Timely Completion of Important Road Projects

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu Thursday emphasised the quality and timely completion of all under progress road projects in the state. Reviewing the status of road projects being executed by the state departments of Highways, Public Works, Rural Works, and Urban Development in the state, the chief minister urged the engineers, especially the chief engineers of all zones and divisions, to check the practise of compiling detailed project reports (DPRs) with exuberant budget estimates. He pointed out that most of the DPRs prepared by departmental engineers always tend to be on the higher side of the actual cost of the project, as an official communiqué informed.

"Yes, we need roads and other developmental projects. But we must always consider the financial capabilities of the state government while preparing DPRs. I have seen DPRs of bridges of smaller proportions cost more than those executed by agencies like the BRO of much bigger proportions. Concerned chief engineers should review and revise such exuberant DPRs before submitting them to the government," he advised. Pema Khandu suggested that relevant technology for road construction, as per the geographical and topographical conditions of the place, must be adopted to maintain the quality and longevity of the project and check cost escalation during construction.

The chief minister advised the secretaries and particularly the chief engineers to physically visit the work-in-progress sites once a month. "This will not only keep the pace of work in tune and ensure quality, but also boost the morale of junior-level officers and staff working on the ground," he pointed out. Khandu also called upon the officers to keep a check on any allegations or complaints of corruption involving their officers and insisted on ‘zero tolerance’ towards any kind of corrupt practise. Discussing the maintenance and revamping of existing roads under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive State Road Development Plan (CMCSRDP), Khandu suggested the PWD complete all the ongoing projects before entertaining new proposals within this financial year. He assured that the requisite funds for this would be made available by the state government.

Reviewing the status of PMGSY roads executed by the RWD, Khandu said the department needs to concentrate more on the districts of East Kameng, Kurung Kumey, Kra-Dadi, and Upper Subansiri, as the data presented showed that most of the unconnected villages fall in these districts. Meanwhile, the Department of Highways (PWD) informed that as the Trans Arunachal Highway is nearing completion, the focus now is on the Frontier Highway and Inter Connectivity Corridor projects, which were recently approved by the Centre. The Frontier Highway is proposed to begin from Bomdila in West Kameng and end at Vijaynagar in Changlang, covering a distance of 1748 km. Parts of this highway will be executed by NHIDCL and BRO, in addition to the state PWD. On the other hand, the Union Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways has identified six interconnectivity corridors to connect NH-52 in Assam with the Trans Arunachal Highway (NH-13) and the proposed Frontier Highway (NH-913). The review meeting was attended by RWD Minister Honchun Ngandam and top officials of PWD, Highways, RWD, and UD, the communiqué added.

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