Chief Minister Kamal Nath has given instructions for drafting a policy for coordination between road construction agencies in order to have better understanding about functions, scope of work and jurisdiction.
Nath was reviewing the plans of Public Works Department and Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation at Mantralaya here on Tuesday. Minister for Public Works Sajjan Singh Verma was also present.
Referring to various agencies engaged in road construction, Kamal Nath said that every agency must have clarity about its functions and duties. He said that maintenance or constructions of many roads are left undone only because agencies concerned keep shifting their responsibility. An overarching policy can resolve this and simplify the process of construction and maintenance of roads, he added.
The Chief Minister said that plantation plans must be inbuilt with road construction plans for environmental improvement. He stressed on maintenance of roads and plantation on both sides of the roads.
The Chief Minister also asked the concerning departments to create their own resources. He also instructed to undertake construction of ring roads and bypass roads to make traffic smooth. This should be included in the master plan so that no problem occurs when cities expand.
Expressing concern over the delay in construction due to land acquisition for major road projects, the Chief Minister said that benefits could not be availed due to unnecessary delays. He instructed to give responsibility to at least one officer for disposal of matters relating to land acquisition. This will speed up the acquisition process, he added.
In addition, the Chief Minister said that IFS officer should also be deployed for this. He will concentrate more on solving matters forest land. This will help complete the projects on time. The Chief Minister said that special attention should be focussed on quality of building materials.
Chief Secretary SR Mohanty, Additional Chief Secretary PWD Malay Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary Finance Anurag Jain and senior officials of the department were present.
