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Towards Better Roads

Why the Roads in Uttarakhand are in a deplorable state?

Dr Nitin Pandey

01-July-2007

Roads are the lifeline of any nation; people, commerce and trade flow through them. In a hilly state like Uttarakhand good roads are important for quick movement of sick people & perishable food. The condition of Uttarakhand’s roads is deplorable. Newly laid roads develop potholes or are inundated by landslides. This is due to the inherent flaws in the process of road making. Road makers follow a “shoot and scoot” policy; their role is finished once the road is certified as complete. That the road deteriorates after the very first rain is of no consequence to anyone. To avoid such situations, all contracts to make or broaden roads should come with a clause of maintaining the road for 5 yrs. This will ensure that good quality roads are built; as otherwise the contractor will spend more money on repairs than what he gained from the contract. Separating the construction and maintenance phases of a road project ensures bad quality. 5yrs is the period after which any well built road would require maintenance repairs. Maintenance contract of one year is clearly insufficient. Geologists should be compulsorily hired by the Contractor for the entire project. They should be involved with the construction and the cutting of hills to ensure stable slopes. Steep slopes overlooking roads leads to rock falls and land slips, injuring and killing a number of people every year. Such steep slopes should have been gentled when the road was constructed. Improper Water Drainage creating Potholes Ready to Slide Landslides are music to the ears of Contractors; more the landslides more the contracts to repair the roads. In this vicious circle, the cause of the landslide is left to fester, in the hope of a fresh slide the next year. Treating of landslides should be a part of the project, with no extra money coming in; this will motivate the Contractors to look out and treat early signs of a landslide, as “prevention is always cheaper that the cure”. Blasting of rocks should be banned as blasts destabilize the mountains by accentuating geographical fault lines, causing landslides and increasing seismic activity. The internationally accepted method of dealing with rocks is to cut and chip them; using the debris to fill up roads, the “half cutting – half filling” method. Though this method is time consuming and expensive it is environmental friendly and prevents landslides by ensuring stable slopes. The money saving practice of rolling down road-making debris into river valleys destabilizes the slopes and makes them prone to slides. Besides damaging the vegetation, it makes the river turbulent by partially blocking it and causes slope erosion. Debris should be trucked to a permanent waste site, which on project completion should be compacted and sown with grass and native trees. On completion of construction, temporary structures, debris and left over material are usually abandoned on the site. This increases pollution in the jungles and is a traffic hazard. Abandonment Strategy should be well planned and executed. Road making means big money and village headmen are often the local contractors. Role of money in obtaining contracts and completion certificates is well known, as is the usual motive of making the maximum money. This leads to overlooking of GOI and contract guidelines.  Local people do not speak out at such irregularities because of the muscle power of the Contractors. To involve local people and to ensure that contract rules are followed each block in Uttaranchal should have voluntary “Block Jan Nigrani Samiti”, headed by a senior ex-serviceman, appointed by the State Government on advice of the State Ex- Servicemen Board. The Samiti could have 4-5 other members, nominated by the Government, two of whom should be ex-servicemen and two ladies. Criterion for civilian nomination could be (1) never belonged to any Political Party (2) not related to any Contractor. Traditional regional leaders like the “Sayanas” of Jaunsar Bawar should be permanent members. The rest should serve a voluntary once-in-a-lifetime 5yr tenure. The Samiti should function out of the home of the President and be involved in all Government activity in the block. Names and telephone numbers of Contractor, Block Jan Nigrani Samiti and Junior Engineer should be prominently displayed at either end of the road and available on the Internet. Details of Contract should also be available on Internet. Though most concepts above are not followed in India, they are an established protocol in other countries. Their financial implications are marginal but their affect on the quality of roads would be phenomenal. For once, Uttarakhand should lead the country. Causes of Bad Roads : Separation of Construction and Maintenance Phases of Road Construction. Not following of GOI and Contract Guidelines in order to extract maximum profit Remedies Contracts require building and maintaining roads for 5yrs. Geologist involved in Planning, Construction and Maintenance Phases of a Road project. Appointment of Block Jan Nigrani Samiti in each block; to obtain public feedback and ensure contract is followed. Names and mobile numbers of Contractor, Block Jan Nigrani Samiti and JE displayed prominently at both ends of the road and available on Internet along with details of the contract. Surveys for new roads be made public and put on internet before approval. Competing surveys from Private Parties asked for.