With the objective to go green, Assam on Wednesday launched a unique ‘Green Roads Mission’, which envisages construction of roads with environment-friendly technology.
The Public Works Roads Department (PWRD) of Assam government has tied up with Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delh,i and Bitchem Asphalt Technologies Ltd (BATL), an international value-added-bitumen manufacturing company, for implementation of the ‘Green Roads Mission’ in the state. The PWRD from now onwards will use Cold Mix Technology (CMT), which does not require any heating and is believed to be environment friendly as well as labour friendly, for road construction in Assam.
The Mission, among others, aims at achieving objectives of sustainable development and harnessing the socio-economic and environmental benefits of CMT for rural roads and state roads. Implementation of the Mission would also help Assam and the country benefit from prospective earning of carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) mechanism, as defined in the Kyoto Protocol.
“The Cold Mix Technology is an impressive option to solve the problems of road connectivity in Assam. In last 13 years, we have constructed around 13,000 kilometres of road under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the process of maintaining the roads is a big issue. Various factors like heavy rainfall often delay the construction and maintenance of roads. I am sure the Cold Mix Technology will go a long way in solving these issues”, said Ajanta Neog, Assam’s urban development minister.
“It is critical to deploy greener and faster technologies like CTM to achieve our target of connecting the unconnected habitations. Development projects today must embrace measures which reduce carbon emissions and cause less harm to health of environment and humans. Cold Mix Technology is an environment-friendly, pollution-free and sustainable technology recognised world over for its efficacy. It is also far superior than the conventional hot mix technology which is clearly degrading our environment,” added NKS Pundhir, principal scientist, CRRI.
