The Centre today urged the states to develop new technologies for the maintenance of roads built under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) even as a mobile application was launched for tracking the pace of road construction on the occasion of Good Governance Day.
"The shape that we want to give to PMGSY, we have to see whether we would be able to maintain that. It is very important for state governments to do proper maintenance of roads as the cost of construction per kilometre varies from between Rs 35 lakh to Rs 1 crore depending on the terrain, which is a huge amount.
"They should develop new technologies to check against water logging on roads by either building drainage systems or increasing their thickness," said Rural Development Minister Birendra Singh.
With the Rural Development Ministry coming up with new initiatives under PMGSY, Singh opened a mobile App for tracking the different stages of road construction, three short films on maintenance, innovative methods and use of plastic for building of roads along with a quarterly journal, 'Gramin Sampark'.
The ministry will complete its target of connecting 1.78 lakh villages by March, 2019, three years ahead of its original target of 2022, he said, adding that approximately 100km of roads is being built per day in the current financial year as against a daily 67km during 2011-12.
"Eighty per cent of the target has been achieved. We have connected more than 1.12 lakh villages," he said.
Speaking on the success of PMGSY, which was launched by former prime minister and BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000, Singh said that the scheme has contributed to the shaping of modern villages.
"The best indicator of PMGSY's success is that people are becoming smart in villages due to enhanced connectivity with urban areas. Now, people can cover a distance of 20km in one hour to access better medical facilities," he said.
The minister also said that the department is focusing on green technologies, like the use of plastic in road building.
"Plastic was a big cause of worry for environmentalists. But its use in the construction of roads will not only reduce the building cost to a great extent but also increase the life of roads as it does not allow water percolation," he said.
Good Governance Day is observed to mark the birthday of Vajpayee.
