Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday directed the officers of  the Public Works Department to ensure time bound completion of all ongoing projects to avoid price escalation.

Presiding over the review meeting of the Department held here, Thakur said the Department must give top priority to the Chief Ministers’ announcements and those projects the foundation stones of which have been laid. He said that top priority must be laid on those projects which were nearing completion.

The Chief Minister said that roads were a mirror of development of any state as people gauge the development by the condition of the roads. He said that stress must be laid on construction of quality roads, as compromise in quality would be viewed seriously. He said that strict action would be taken against the erring officers and contractors, responsible for poor quality of roads and bridges, besides unnecessary delay in the works.

While congratulating the Public Works Department for securing second position at National level for successful implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) in the State, Chief Minister said that this programme funded by Centre government had proved a boon to connect habitations having population of more than 250 in the state.

He said that Mandi district has bagged top position in the country among all 30 top districts of the country, as many as seven districts of the State were amongst the top thirty districts in achieving maximum length under PMGSY during the year 2020-21. He said that this has been possible due to the hard work of the department and their focused approach.

Thakur expressed concern over the delay in allocation of various projects for execution and directed the officers of the department to evolve mechanisms to reduce time for awarding of works. He said that works must be awarded immediately and in case of any problem the issue must be brought to the knowledge of the higher authorities. He said that greater focus must be laid on optimum use of IT and modern technology in execution of the projects.     

He directed the NHAI authorities for ensuring proper maintenance of various NHAI projects in the State and said that the National Highways should be maintained properly and any laxity in this regard would be viewed seriously. He said that all the potholes along all the National Highways must be filled by 3rd of next month.

He said that as many as 219 projects have been sanctioned under NABARD from 1st January, 2018 till date worth Rs 894.38 crore. Similarly 28 road projects worth Rs 747.08 crore have been sanctioned under CRIF in the State during the tenure of the present State Government.

The CM said that HP State Road Transformation Project was also being implemented in the State which was worth Rs 799.68 crore, adding that the project was being implemented under three components, which includes re-establishing and operationalizing HPRIDC and building resilience, improving selected roads stimulating States horticulture and overall economic growth and enhancing road safety.

Thakur said that for the first time assessment has been done to identify division wise roads, on which snow clearance activities need to be undertaken as and when required. He said that a dedicated human resource deployment roster was being formulated which would coordinate with disaster management authorities of respective districts at divisional, district and sub divisional level in event of such requirement