Road and bridge projects: Negligence costs State PWD dearly

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The State PWD is often caught on the wrong foot for not adhering to the mandatory guidelines in road and bridge projects. For such lapses, the State exchequer often costs dearly.

According to sources, there are some specifications which have to be scrupulously followed in every road or bridge as their violation leads to irreparable loss. Specifications like traffic density census, road or bridge design in sync with 'Earthquake Zonal Regulations' (EZR), site survey by engineers before preparing DPRs (Detailed Project Reports) and a strong quality control mechanism while implementing projects are a must. However, Assam has the dubious distinction of often skipping such mandatory specifications because of negligence on the part of a section of engineers, leading to quality compromise.

Even the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) has pointed out violation of such mandatory norms. The CAG has found such violations during its field study of project sites. The CAG has suggested the State government to fix responsibilities of such violations on the erring engineers.

According to IRC (Indian Road Congress) – 1972 norms, prior to the pavement design of any road project, the 'traffic density census' should be conducted 24 hours a day for seven days. Strangely enough, the CAG has found that only one of the 76 NABARD-sponsored road projects in the State has complied with the road traffic census norm.

As Assam falls in a high seismic zone, any road or bridge project in the State should be designed in accordance with the specified EZRs (Earthquake Zonal Regulations). Even as the State PWD (Public Work Department) claims to be adhering to such regulations, the documents of most of the road and bridge projects don't support the claim. And this is where the CAG caught the department on the wrong foot.

Sources said that to serve the interest of contractors, a section of engineers prepares the DPRs of road and bridge projects without any site survey. Here, the CAG has found that in 32 of 76 selected NABARD-funded projects, the DPRs were not found suitable as per site conditions.

There are also cases that due to the lack of site survey, many roads in the rural areas end on private plots of land, private farmers' fields, drains etc, often leading to the abandonment of projects.

What baffles the right-thinking people in the State is: The PWD has its own Regional Research Laboratory and Training Institute, but it is also not free of negligence. The laboratory is meant to control the quality of raw materials used in projects. The institute should have details of tested samples like names of projects, types of samples, dates of testing etc., in its records. However, in most of the cases, no such records are maintained.

The government spends crores of money in road and bridge projects for boosting connectivity in the State, but the short longevity of such projects dents the State exchequer badly. Lapses on the part of those at the helm of affairs are responsible for such irreparable losses. Why does the government play the role of a mute spectator when funds spent for such projects don't serve the State fully?

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