Nitish Kumar launches road maintenance policy,

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday launched road maintenance policy and five schemes for the slum areas in urban localities.

Calling 11.12.13 as a historic day, Nitish said now the constructed roads will be repaired automatically by the agencies assigned the task. It will include 9064km of district and state highways for which a five-year agreement has been signed with the agencies and Rs 2579 crore was made available for the purpose. As per the estimate, Rs 28.45 lakh will be spent on the maintenance of one km of road in five years.

The road construction department (RCD) has also introduced road ambulance, a patrol maintenance unit which will be GPS-based and pressed into service for the 'treatment' of the 'ailing' roads, Nitish said and added that the ambulance will be equipped with basic maintenance equipment and materials and trained highway technicians. It can be used as emergency response unit.

The CM also announced that separate funds would be made available for the roads damaged due to natural calamities like floods and earthquake and the same agencies will be assigned the repair work. RCD secretary Pratyaya Amrit, who was quite excited over the project, said this is the first of its kind road maintenance policy in the country.

The CM also unveiled the five schemes of urban development and housing department (UDHD) worth Rs 1412 crore. They include Rs 581 crore for the construction of 20,721 housing units in slums, Rs 402 crore for infrastructure development in 1402 slums, Rs 170 crore for Patna water treatment plant and another Rs 170 crore for construction of 24 nagar parishad and 53 nagar panchayat bhavans.

Nitish recalled that during his Seva Yatra in Katihar, he came across the works done in slum areas under the slum development scheme and decided to expand it across the state. So far, he said, 1.15 lakh SHGs have been formed in rural areas. Now, integrated development societies are being formed in urban areas to work in slums.

Speaking about the building bylaws, he said the decision has already been taken and very soon it will be announced. The draft will be put on the website and public suggestions and comments will be sought. "All new buildings being constructed should be quake resistant. If Patna faced quake to the scale of 6.7 on Richter scale, no less than 5 lakh people will perish. It is very pathetic to see that apartments are being constructed in narrow lanes," he said.

Urban development department secretary S Siddhartha highlighted the salient features of the schemes.

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