New Delhi, March 27 (IANS). The central government has approved Rs 9,599 crore for maintenance of national highways in FY 25. This information was given by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on Thursday.
The Union Minister said that it includes a short-term maintenance contract (STMC) of 17,884 km in a price of Rs 2,842 crore and a performance-based maintenance contract (PBMC) of 6,118 km length of Rs 6,757 crore.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister said that the government has given priority to the maintenance of the current National Highway Network and has developed a system to ensure the maintenance and repair of all national highway segments through a accountable maintenance agency.
Currently, 1,310 national highway projects are under construction in the country at a cost of Rs 8.11 lakh crore in length.
At the same time, contracts in STMC work are usually done for a period of 1-2 years, while in PBMC work contracts are made for a period of about 5-7 years.
The Union Minister said that the government encourages new technology or methods to increase the durability of national highways and reduce the needs of maintenance.
According to the Union Minister, before the commencement of work, the work of the work ending certificate and after the completion of the work is assessed through the Network Survey Vehicle (NSV) of the National Highway at regular intervals of six months, which makes it possible to assess the quality assessment of national highways at regular intervals.
In addition, the government has started the work of installing Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) on four lanes and longer national highways.
Gadkari said, “ATMS provides for various electronic equipment, which help quickly identify the events (including traffic violations) and monitor the highways, which improves response time and road safety.”
The government said that out of a total of 13,795 black spots identified on national highways by 2021-22, short-term improvement measures have been completed at 11,515 black spots and permanent improvement measures have been completed at 5,036 black spots.
-IANS
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