An issue that was raised in the Assembly today saw agreement from both sides of the house, namely that Meghalaya’s road network is in terrible shape.
MLAs from both sides of the Assembly – the governing benches and opposition – were critical today of the poor condition of the state’s roads.
Participating in a discussion in the house today, Mawkyrwat MLA Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, of the United Democratic Party (part of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance), lamented that potholes develop on new or repaired roads within a few months and very few people in the state are satisfied about road maintenance.
Asking the government to come up with a new policy on road maintenance, the former cabinet minister in the previous MDA government said that details of the contractor who is assigned to maintain roads should be put up on each route to boost transparency and accountability.
From the opposition benches, Umsning MLA Dr Celestine Lyngdoh of the Congress Party said that the load bearing specifications of the road and the actual load of vehicles using them never match, as a result of which newly built roads get damaged within a few months.
Shella MLA Balajied Kupar Synrem, of the allied UDP, also highlighted that many of the roads are not maintained in and around Sohra and Shella and hence many tourists do not visit these areas.
In his reply, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that roads in the state get damaged due to several factors like narrowness, heavy traffic, potholes, climatic conditions and operational factors.
The government last year has engaged a consultant to develop a web-enabled road asset management system for effective management of roads and bridges.
The last budget included an allocation of Rs 414 crore for road maintenance, he added, but Rs 113 crore (more than 25 percent) was spent on liabilities.
The CM also informed that a massive review of the Public Works Department was held and out of this an Integrated Transport Network Development plan, which focuses on different aspects of road construction and maintenance, has come about. There will now be a new approach where proposals will be submitted at a fixed time of the year so that tendering, allotment and construction of roads can be taken up as planned.
