SHILLONG: The Meghalaya government is keen to develop plastic roads in the state in a big way following the success of similar roads in different parts of the state.
The concept of plastic road has been a great success and many MLAs from different parts of the state are now proposing the state government to construct plastic roads in their respective constituencies.
Director of Community &Rural Development (C&RD) Arunkumar Kembhavi said that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is keen to promote the concept of plastic roads and has even sanctioned funds for the projects.
Asserting that there is no specific target to construct plastic roads, the official added that the projects are sanctioned as and when demands come from the MLAs.
It was recently learnt that a proposal was submitted to construct an 8 km plastic road in Shella constituency.
When asked if the concept of plastic road is a success in the state, Kembhavi said that the concept is indeed a success and that there is not even a single scratch on the first plastic road which was constructed in Nongkynjeng village in West Khasi district more than a year and a half.
The road in question was constructed by mixing shredded plastic waste with heated bitumen – a technology developed by Coimbatore-based Padma Shri Rajagopalan Vasudevan years ago – that makes the road more durable and at the same time, is a solution to the growing problem of plastic waste.
It is said that roads constructed with this technology are also more durable and costs far less compared to conventional methods of road construction.