Soon highways in Ramanathapuram district too will be brought under a long-term contract where 569 km of roads will be improved and maintained by a contractor for five years. The State government recently sanctioned funds for the works worth Rs. 460 crore to be taken up under Performance Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC) system.
Works including initial rectification, widening, construction of cross drains and periodical surface renewal will be taken up under the new system. The required amount will be released each year for a period of five years. Tenders will soon be floated for the project.
According to sources in the Highways Department, such a system is in place already in Pollachi and Krishnagiri.
“Pollachi was taken up as a pilot project two years ago and the quality of roads in that district have seen a marked improvement. The terms of reference of the project have been drawn up based on previous World Bank road projects implemented in the State,” the source said.
The idea is to cover all the districts in the State under such contracts so that road quality is improved and one contractor is held responsible consistently, the source added. However, former highways engineers termed the contracts as a kind of privatisation move.
