By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 22: The Opposition on Wednesday cornered Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on the load-bearing capacity of roads in the state.
Tynsong, who holds the PWD Roads portfolio, asked for notice after several attempts to reply in circles.
“I think the minister seems to beat about the wrong bush. He is not able to provide us with a satisfactory reply,” the VPP’s Nongkrem legislator, Ardent Basaiawmoit said during Question Hour in the Assembly.
Congress legislator from Umsning, Celestine Lyngdoh asked about the thickness of the state PWD roads, the agencies or government departments that give such specifications, whether the PMGSY roads have an annual maintenance contract for five years after completion of the road and whether the state PWD Roads also has the AMCs.
“I brought this question because everyone in the state would like to have good roads,” he said.
In his reply, Tynsong said the specifications laid down by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) are followed for the thickness of the state PWD roads.
He said that the PMGSY roads follow all the specifications as stipulated in the Rural Roads Manual, 2002 (SP-20) of the IRC and that the provision for maintenance is kept for schemes sanctioned under the RIDF XXVI onwards and also some schemes sanctioned under Systematic Maintenance Programme (SMP).
Tynsong also said that the determination of the thickness of the road pavement is governed by different factors according to IRC-37 and that the total number of years for the completion of new state PWD roads that the government is entitled to repair is four to five years. Routine maintenance is done periodically, he added.
Raising a supplementary question, Lyngdoh wondered how the specifications stipulated by the IRC can be same for all parts of the country. “I would like to mention here that (the conditions in) Meghalaya will be totally different from Rajasthan. We are exposed to so much rain. The stress and strain of roads in Meghalaya is totally different from roads in Rajasthan,” he said.
“Can we have area-specific thickness? Is it not the duty of the government to demand special consideration for variable thickness of roads according to the area, especially in Meghalaya?” Lyngdoh asked.
Tynsong replied that the IRC does not necessarily study only Rajasthan or the plain belts but also the hilly areas. They came out with the manual for the specifications on the construction of roads after such studies, he said.
“As far as Meghalaya is concerned, the design is made according to the intensity of the traffic, the climatic condition and also the sub-grade condition of each road or each project throughout the state,” he said.
Raising another supplementary question, Lyngdoh enquired, “What is the load-bearing capacity of rural roads, intermediate roads and state highways? We all know that roads are the backbone of development but these days, it looks like roads are the reason why we break our bones.”
Without replying to the question specifically, Tynsong said, “The load-bearing capacity is again as per the recommendations of the IRC for the national highways, state highways, major district roads and the village roads. We are guided by that as well as the area-specific requirements depending on the design.”
When Lyngdoh said he did not receive a direct reply to his question, Tynsong said: “Sometimes, the bearing capacity is 12 tons or 18 tons but there are incidents where trucks move with 35-40 tons. But as I said, everything is guided by the IRC specifications.”
Reminding that he has not yet received the reply, Lyngdoh sought to know about the accountability of the contractor if a road gets damaged two or three months after completion.
Tynsong said there have been cases where newly completed roads were damaged due to climatic conditions, especially during monsoon.
“We go for repair work and restoration but that happens only when the climate is not in our favour. We are taking initiatives to incorporate a warranty period of PMGSY for the RITF, CIF, and state-funding projects,” he said.
The Umsning MLA also pointed out how 7-8 km of newly-built roads are destroyed by the overloading of trucks carrying building materials for the 2 km road extension.
Stating that it is not only about asking and answering but planning to have good roads for the people, he reminded Tynsong that he did not receive a reply on the load-bearing capacity of different roads.
The minister in charge then said he needs a notice.
Joining in with a supplementary question, Basaiawmoit asked whether the specifications laid down by the IRC are applicable to PMGSY only or to the state PWD roads too. Tynsong said they apply to all state projects.
The UDP’s Mowkaiaw MLA, Nujorki Sungoh asked about the maintenance of roads and requested the minister to look at three dilapidated PMGSY roads in his constituency.