WHAT IS ROAD REGISTER?
A road register is a four-page document for every road in a ward. The first page will have a sketch of the road, intersections on the road, footpaths and other features. The second page details the name and type of the road (public, private, bus route, interior or slum road), length, average width, area, length and width of the footpath, sewer and stormwater drain. The third page has data on road cuts. The fourth page records data on re-laying of the road.
WHO MAINTAINS THE ROAD REGISTER?
They are maintained by junior engineers in the 200 wards. However, it is not in public domain. Only 'inspecting officers' can access the document.
WHY IS THE REGISTER IMPORTANT FOR RESIDENTS?
The road register can be used as a tool to understand the encroachments on footpaths or roads. The footpaths can then be reclaimed based on the data.
HOW CAN THE RESIDENTS ACCESS THE DATA?
File an RTI plea with the Chennai Corporation officials to get data from the road register. Residents can also persuade their councillor to access the document in areas where footpaths are not in good shape
