Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh has said the road repair works have once again started and the government plans to repair 600 kilometres of roads by December this year.
In the past few months, the road repair projects had stopped after the West Asia war affected the supply and pushed up the prices of bitumen, a petroleum byproduct used in road construction.
But recently, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) approved cost escalation proposals for all the projects starting from April this year to November.
"Due to the war situation, the supply of bitumen was affected, and its prices also saw a significant increase. This led to delays in the work, but we have reissued the tender and restarted the work afresh," Singh said late Thursday night.
"Road construction and resurfacing work is not feasible in winter, so a target has been set to complete 600 kilometres of roads by December, and work is progressing rapidly on the identified roads," he added.
Focus on road quality and maintenance
The minister also said that the roads should not only be built quickly but also be durable, and for this purpose, he informed that a team from Netaji Subhas University of Technology is monitoring the quality through third-party audits.
"Additionally, the company awarded the road construction contract will also be responsible for maintaining the road for the next five years," he added.
Why road work was delayed
The road repair work is not taken up during monsoon, and in winters, with night temperatures dropping below 15 degrees Celsius, the bitumen laying becomes difficult, an official said.
Last year, the central government approved a fund request of Rs 803 crore for 152 road-related projects across Delhi covered under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund. Separately, the Delhi government has also taken up other road repair works.
The PWD manages about 1,400 kilometres of roads in the capital. Out of this, tenders for work on 400 km have been floated that will be covered under the cost-escalation proposal. Additionally, 200 km of roads which are being funded by the Delhi government will also be included in the overall repair works.