The Telangana government has given code numbers to rural roads on the lines of highways after surveying them and creating a database.
The entire road network was built into the database which would be displayed on the website, Panchayat Raj Minister K.T. Rama Rao stated in a release.
He said the roads were categorised on the basis of the year in which they were laid which aided in estimating when they were due for repairs or already completed. This would also help in checking the malpractice of claiming bills for old repairs.
Emphasising that the rural roads would be upgraded by highest engineering standards, Mr. Rao said the objective was to develop rural areas on par with towns. A total road length of 64,046 km would be developed in phases over the next five years. The previous governments neglected the roads so badly that they did not even repair them once in five years.
In the first phase, black top roads over 12,006 km that were constructed prior to 2009 would be renewed at a cost of Rs. 1,767 crore. The administrative sanction for the work was given and tenders invited. Such a big amount was never sanctioned to the Panchayat Raj Department in the past. Also, mud and gravel roads over 20,000 km would be repaired for Rs. 600 crore.
Mr. Rao added that it was not only roads but construction of bridges and culverts over which the government was focussed to improve connectivity between villages. To ensure the success of the twin programmes, he added that the government has decided to cancel deputation of officers ex-department. The services of retired engineers would be engaged till the 198 vacancies were filled by the Public Service Commission. The project implementation unit and engineering wings of the department would be clubbed for effective functioning.
He warned that contractors who did not fulfil the standards of roads laid down by the Indian Road Congress would not only be fined, but blacklisted. The contractors were responsible for maintenance of standards for five years, he added.
