Apart from restoring roads, the agencies have to maintain greenery on the medians.
Hyderabad: The first phase of the Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CRMP) is being implemented successfully with agencies managing to complete the restoration of main roads, including repairs, maintenance, and re-carpeting, in Hyderabad with a cost of Rs 1,050 crore in a span of three years. Under CRMP, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) entrusted the road repairs, re-carpeting, and maintenance of 709 km of main roads to private agencies for a period of five years.
After the responsibility of restoring the roads was given to agencies, an additional 102.95 km stretches were identified and these roads too were handed over to CRMP agencies without increasing the project cost. Overall, as part of the first phase of CRMP, on the 811.95 km of city main roads, road repairs, maintenance, and re-carpeting were taken up with a cost Rs 1,050 crore.
The total estimated contract value of the CRMP works is about Rs 1,827 crore and it is a five-year contract that commenced in 2020. The surplus funds will be utilised for maintaining these main roads for the next two years. As per the contract, after restoration, the onus of maintaining the roads lies with the agencies.
Apart from restoring and maintaining the main carriageway, the agencies were also entrusted with the task of maintaining greenery on the medians as well. According to GHMC data, the bills to the agencies are being released as the works progress and penalties were also imposed on the agencies when there was a delay in grievance redressal.
“We want the main roads to be potholes free and eroded bitumen layers should not be present on them. The penalties were imposed after the complaints related to potholes and road damage were not resolved within the stipulated time,” said a GHMC official.
Vacuum Dewatered Cement Concrete (VDCC) roads
On the stretches where traffic is relatively less compared to main roads/major thoroughfares and major water logging roads, the GHMC at those stretches is laying Vacuum Dewatered Cement Concrete (VDCC) roads. The GHMC is laying 146 km of VDCC roads with Rs 158.67 crore. It is also to avoid rainwater stagnation and to ensure longevity, the GHMC is laying VDCC roads instead of regular bitumen roads.