'4(j. ..m. 9001:2008 YCI1lfOld. National Rural Roads Development Agency (Ministry of Rural Development. Govt. of India)

Transcription

1 ~.lrl./~.lrl..m. 9001:2008 YCI1lfOld IS/ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED Dr. I.K. Pateriya Director (Technical) Tel No: Fax No: '4(j National Rural Roads Development Agency (Ministry of Rural Development. Govt. of India) S'" Floor, IS-NBCC Tower. Bhikaji Cama Place. New Delhi Lr No. NRRDA P017(12}/2/2016 (Dir-Tech) 1st Novemebr, 2016 To, All Principal Secretaries/ Secretaries in-charge of PMGSY Sir (s}/madam, As you are aware that Rural Road Development Plan : Vision 2025, was published in the year Based on the experience gained in last 15 years of implementation of PMGSY, Ministry of Rural Development is now in the process of preparing Rural Road Development Plan: Vision 2040, with the support of World Bank, States and other Stakeholders in the Rural Roads Sector. Accordingly, a Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Shri S.Vijay Kumar, Former Secretary (RD) for preparing the draft of Rural Road Development Plan: Vision The Committee after its first meeting has prepared a questionnaire for obtaining feedback from the States and other stakeholders. The questionnaire is enclosed herewith. 2. You are requested to formulate the responses on the questionnaire, in SRRDA, after discussion with the officers involved in Rural Road Sector. Responses so prepared may be got approved by State Level Standing Committee (SLSC) and forwarded to Director ( Technical), NRRDA latest by so" November, 2016, for further consideration by the Committee in preparing draft of the document. 3. Your cooperation in this regard is requested. End: As above (I.K.Pateriya) Director(Tech.}

2 Questionnaire for States From Vision 2025 to a Vision 2040 Issue 1: Multiplier effect Vision 2025 points to the multiplier effect of provision of rural roads; the provision of a good road network is a better option than indefinitely expanding the education or health services to reach all consumers at their doorstep as it becomes expensive and unsustainable in terms of stationing trained service providers like health workers and teachers. The beneficiaries can thus access a sustainable service network through the roads. Roads thus multiply the impact of provision of a service without the government having to invest in its unsustainable expansion. Rural roads act as facilitators to: promote and sustain agricultural growth improve basic health and hygiene provide access to schools and other educational opportunities provide access to economic opportunities create employment opportunities enhance democratic processes and bring people into national mainstream enhance local skills reduce vulnerability and poverty act as infrastructure multiplier Question 1: In your opinion, to what extent the goals of Vision 2025 have been achieved in your State? How has the State Govt managed the leveraging of the road network for socio economic outcomes mentioned above? 1

3 Issue 2: Transport Network Vision 2025 point out that rural transport is part of a transport chain with one end in the agricultural fields and the other on the local market. It is also the transport chain from the main highway network upto the local market. Development of rural roads cannot be viewed in isolation from the needs of higher categories of roads and even changes affecting the urban landscape. National highways serve the mobility function as they criss cross the whole country connecting capitals of the states, major ports, industrial and tourist centres. Rural roads serve the accessibility function. They feed traffic into and receive traffic from the secondary system, (State Highways and Major District Roads: SH and MDR), which in turn is supported by and supports the primary system (National Highways: NH). The secondary system contributes both to the rural economy and to the industrial development. They combine the mobility and access function. The road transport system can function efficiently only if all the three groups of roads are developed harmoniously and are integrated into one another. Question 2: What have been the major developments in your State for more harmonious development of all categories of roads? Is there an institutional mechanism for the purpose? What do you suggest should be the strategy in Vision 2040? Issue 3: Transport Indicators Vision 2025 points out that any developmental programme requires the assessment of its success through measurements in terms of objectively assessed indicators, on physical achievements, performance levels and the impact of the programme, on the society. Such indicators and their periodical trend show whether or not the targets have been achieved as planned, whether the system is performing with desired level of service and whether the services extended to the society through the development have the anticipated impact. If the indicators are appropriately identified, compiled and analyzed, they would help in both bench marking and performance comparison at intra and inter sectoral level. Though, in the normal course, the physical achievements are generally compiled, the performance and outcome, particularly in the Rural Roads Sector have not been attempted so far. This requires a suitably identified system and calls for dedicated resources. 2

4 Transport Indicators in Rural Roads Sector are expected to cover a wide range of information, the indicative list of which is given in the Vision. The information on Transport Indicators should serve as a databank, the analysis of which will lead to appropriate policy decisions at different levels of sectoral management. The Transport Indicators help in redefining and refining the programme objectives, its implementation and management. Therefore, all possible efforts must be made in data collection, validation, compilation, storage, analysis and retrieval for use at different levels and by various organizations/departments concerned with overall rural development. Question 3: What is the system in the State gathering and using transport indicators? What has been the result so far in terms of using the data? What are the suggestions in terms of an institutional set up to gather and use data for incorporation in Vision 2040? Issue 4: Connectivity Vision Vision 2025 states that apart from the balance work of PMGSY, there is need to tackle the requirement of connectivity to habitations with lower population thresholds not presently covered under the PMGSY. Existing roads and tracks are also to be brought to a fully serviceable condition. Optimizing investments in upgrading and maintaining the existing network while giving due regard to providing access to unconnected habitations of smaller size is the challenge. This has clearly to be met with state and even district specific strategies. Question 4: What are the strategies that your State has adopted for providing connectivity for other habitations, and for upgradation and maintenance of the network, including in hilly or LWE affected areas if any? Whether the technical and management standards including planning, design, monitoring and quality management systems set for PMGSY are generally being followed in the entire rural road sector in your state? What do you suggest can be done under Vision 2040? 3

5 Issue 5: State level Planning Vision 2025 advises that the State Governments may use the DRRP and the Core Network developed as part of the PMGSY programme for a holistic planning and implementation of other State level programmes including those that fall into RIDF (NABARD), World Bank, ADB State plans, and local areas development schemes by the Members of the State Assemblies and the Parliament. Question 5: To what extent are the DRRP and Core Network being used by the State Govt for planning purposes? Do you feel that the Rural Road Master Plans as suggested in Vision 2025 are appropriate for planning of rural roads and are any modifications are required? Have computerised applications including GIS been developed for regional and local planning? Issue 6: Financing of Rural Roads Most States find public investment in rural roads well worth it because of the socio economic benefit and poverty reduction impact as manifested through public pressure for construction of roads. The existing sources of financing for construction of rural road are: Government budget Finance Commission grant Central Road Fund Market Committee Fees, etc. Loan assistance from NABARD Loan assistance from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank MGNREGA etc Question 6: Has the State adopted any innovative strategy for funding of rural roads? Has the State linked the funding of rural road to the sustainable development objectives in any way? 4

6 Issue 7: Rural Roads as Well Engineered Structures Vision 2025 rightly points out there is was a misconception that Rural Roads being the lowest category of roads need no elaborate design and engineering. Rural Roads do require proper design, and the same attention is needed as for any other class of highway. Given the fact that rural roads serve an access function rather than a mobility function the scope for engineering intervention to ensure a cost effective solution is all the greater. The Vision 2025 also points out that bituminous surfacing is currently being provided on almost all rural roads, without any consideration of traffic and rainfall. This is a costly item, its cost being in the range of Rs 4 5 lakh per km. Blacktopping, therefore, has a bearing on investments needed for rural roads. Availability of bitumen at reasonable cost and in desired quantities might also pose a problem in foreseeable future. Moreover, this surfacing will involve extra cost in periodic maintenance subsequently. Subject to consideration of rainfall and traffic, blacktopping may be restricted to through routes and to link routes that link bigger villages say with population above For roads connecting villages with population less than 1000, gravel roads should do unless heavy rainfall conditions justify blacktopping. As already mentioned earlier, AASHTO designs recommended only a gravel road for traffic upto 100,000 repetitions of standard axles. Roughly, under present loading conditions observed in India, this implies that many of the link roads in low rainfall areas can be left without blacktopping in the first stage. Several countries in the world, including USA, have a large percentage of unpaved roads The Vision suggests that un paved gravel roads have an important role to play in India s future road programme. Furthermore, several low cost bituminous sealing techniques are available. These include surface dressing, which can be practiced with low cost equipment and labourintensive techniques. Gravel roads and soil cement roads can also be sealed by a light bituminous treatment. Question 7: Given that PMGSY is now a shared programme and States have to provide funds for connecting habitations not covered under PMGSY, evolving cost effective designs is of vital importance to the State from a funding perspective. What is the State Govt s policy with regard to provision of unsealed roads or lightly sealed gravel roads for smaller habitations? What is the suggestion for incorporation in Vision 2040? 5

7 Issue 8: Land Acquisition Vision 2025 advocates that in occasional cases, land acquisition by payment of compensation may have to be considered. For rural roads the State Governments, keeping in view the overall context, will need to determine land availability policies. Uniform policies will need to be evolved to avoid competing demands and also in order not to discourage local community participation in voluntary land donation efforts. Question 8: Whether availability of land for rural roads construction is delaying the implementation of projects? If yes, what are the suggestions for improving the situation? Has the State Govt developed policies for getting land for rural roads? Is acquisition part of the strategy? In what circumstances (including level of investment)? Issue 9: Construction Practices Vision 2025 points out that the current practices for the construction and maintenance of rural roads continue to be traditional inasmuch as the use of hard stone metal is being insisted upon, in the form of WBM layers, and a bituminous surface treatment is being preferred even on low volume link roads. Although there is an increasing awareness regarding the need for maximized use of locally available materials, adoption of soil stabilization techniques and relevance of unsealed gravel roads for the low volume traffic conditions, such cost effective practices have not yet found favour in many states. The deployment of equipment/plant, both for construction and maintenance/ rehabilitation is, by and large, the same as is being adopted for higher category roads like Major District Roads and State Highways. For example, bituminous hot mix plants for the production of premixed materials and asphalt pavers for laying thin carpets are commonly used. For excavating earth from borrow areas, the use of excavators in combination with dumpers is also quite common. The prevailing technology for construction and maintenance of rural roads needs a review. Question 9: What is the State Govt view on use of local material and appropriate technology for construction of rural road, keeping in view the cost implications for the State finances? Whether the gravel roads and locally available materials are being used in construction of rural roads for connecting habitations below PMGSY eligibility? What are the key challenges in use of 6

8 locally available materials and low cost technologies in your state? Your suggestions for development and use of appropriate technology and low end technologies such as tractor bound technologies? Issue 10: Survey of locally available materials Vision had raised concerns on the use of scarce natural resources for construction of roads, and had suggested that a nation wide survey of locally available materials covering every district should be undertaken, so as to use materials more efficiently and with less waste. Question 10: What efforts have been made to augment the resources for road construction material in your State and to ensure resource use efficiency? What more need to be done at the National and State level? Whether any efforts have been made in the State for allocation of separate budget for R&D for such issues? Whether State has taken up any application of research findings in construction of rural roads? Issue 11: Skill Development Vision 2025 states that as rural road construction activity increases, requirement of personnel with various skills whether as road roller driver, operators of hot mix plant and other equipment increases. There is, however, no institutionalized mechanism for imparting skills and no certification system to ensure that only those with adequate skills are employed. States need to coordinate with ITIs (urban and rural) to ensure the development of such skills. Question 11: Has the State dovetailed its skilling and vocational education programmes to the need of the construction industry? What has been the impact in terms of contractor development and quality improvement? 7

9 Issue 12: Quality Assurance Since large investments are being made in the rural roads now to achieve a poverty reduction impact, and this impact I visible only in the longer run, it is desirable that good quality roads are constructed meeting the laid down specifications and their durability is ensured. The Vision 2025 itself points out that the present concept that ensuring quality by performing quality control tests is too restrictive and should be broadened to include all aspects of quality assurance. Quality assurance safeguards should be in built at every stage of the project cycle: surveys, investigations, designs and preparation of Detailed Project Report, whether through consultants or in house preparation of bidding documents including specifications, bill of quantities, drawings construction by Contractor supervision by department with or without support of consultant maintenance The Vision suggests that a Quality Assurance system should be developed covering all the above aspects of Rural Roads. Over a period of time, the sector should move towards Total Quality Management (TQM) as practiced universally. Total Quality Management would imply putting in place a quality assurance system, enunciating quality management policy, designating management responsibility and putting in place an organizational structure, exercising internal and external control, carrying out quality control tests, setting acceptance/rejection criteria, taking corrective action at all levels, and documentation of procedures, results and corrective action. Vision 2025 suggests that each state construction department such as PWD or RES must develop a quality management system, which should include establishment of acceptance standards, tolerance levels and quality parameters. These should be based on qualitative assessment with simple compliance criteria and reasonable compliance process. These may need a yearly review on the basis of field data and also keeping in the cost factors in view. A well trained quality appreciation unit should be set up within the construction departments to undertake quality checks at specified interval from planning and investigation stage to completion and subsequent maintenance. The cell responsible for monitoring the quality management system should be staffed by professionally trained quality personnel and report directly to the head or deputy head of the department. District Level Laboratories should be established throughout the country to carry out more intricate tests. These laboratories should be provided with the necessary 8

10 equipment. The PMGSY has demonstrated that external experts from the Universities/Engineering Colleges and retired senior level engineers from the highway engineering profession can be inducted into the quality system. Question 12: What is the Quality management system being followed for rural road other than PMGSY? Whether the Institutional mechanism for imparting skills and testing laboratories are functional in your state and useful in quality management for the sector? Any suggestions for improvement in the Quality Management System or how the aspiration for move from quality management to quality assurance can be incorporated more specifically in the Vision 2040? Issue 13: Maintenance management Vision 2025 rightly point out that though investment in maintenance is extremely cost effective in comparison to having to build the entire road all over again; management, accounting and policy systems all tend to constrain investment in construction rather than in maintenance. Unless modern, transparent and scientific maintenance practices are evolved with clearly measurable indicators, the situation is not likely to change. The Vision recommends that States should set up dedicated funds for maintenance by transferring funds from various sources government budget, grants recommended by the Finance Commission, any additional levies like cess on agricultural produce, additional sales tax on petrol and high speed diesel, onetime tax on agricultural tractors. A proper management system of the fund should be set up by the states for planning, implementation and monitoring of the maintenance works. Question 13: What efforts are being taken for managing the requirement of funds for maintenance of rural roads? Whether there is a Rural Roads Maintenance Policy for the State and maintenance funds are being allocated according to that policy? 9

11 Issue 14: Asset management The Vision 2025 advocates that a simplified maintenance planning and management system may be instituted by each State for carrying out inventory and visual condition surveys of the Network. The concept of Pavement Condition Index (PCI) has already been introduced for PMGSY roads. The system will help in identifying and prioritizing maintenance interventions for the core network in each district. Annual maintenance plans should be drawn up on that basis.expenditure incurred for maintenance should be subjected to both technical and financial audits to improve transparency and performance. A system could be evolved by the states where the value of the road assets in each block could be worked out every year based on road inventory and visual inspection and results published in the media. Question 14: Is the State using PCI for maintenance management of PMGSY roads? What is the basis of maintenance management of other rural roads? What are the views of the State on access to funds available under the 14 th Finance Commission grant to Panchayats for maintaining rural roads? Issue 15: Rural Road Management The Vision recommends that to give adequate powers to the departments in charge of rural roads, a Rural Road Management Act be enacted, which clearly: defines the powers, functions and obligations of the road authority requires a register of all public roads in each block being kept with the Zilla Panchayat. lays down serviceability standards to be adhered to governs the regulation of rural roads requires that an asset management system be instituted Question 15: What is the institutional set up in the State for management of rural roads? Is the State in favour of enacting a legislation of the type mentioned above and should MoRD draft a Model Law? 10

12 Issue 16: Road Safety The State Governments have set up Safety Councils at State level under the Motor Vehicles Act. District level Rural Road Safety Committees are being set up in several States. The head of the Project Implementation Units of Rural Roads was to be included in the district level committees. Similarly, State Level Quality Coordinator of the SRRDA was to be nominated to the State Level Safety Council. In addition to the road safety measures incorporated at design stage, Vision 2025 had underlined the need to carry out safety audit of the road network in the district, to identify the expected points of conflict and take effective corrective measures. All accidents involving serious injuries and loss of life need to be recorded, cause of accident analyzed and the safety audit report updated on the basis of such analysis. Information signs should indicate about the location of nearest trauma centres or hospitals so that help can become available at time of emergencies. Question 16: Whether road safety aspects are being given due importance in rural roads in your State and a system of safety audit and accident report is prevalent in the state? If yes, whether such accident data is available in public domain? Issue 17: Environmental Management The MORD has developed an Environmental Codes of Practice for adoption on the rural road works financed by World Bank assistance taken up, under PMGSY, in the four states. Similar action has also been taken up under projects financed by Asian Development Bank. The Operations Manual for PMGSY also has laid down procedures for environmental management, to reduce adverse environmental impacts of road construction. Question 17: Whether State level level guidelines have been developed for specific environmental concerns to be addressed in construction of rural roads in your State? Whether any guidelines have been developed or are under development in the context of the SDGs. 11

13 Issue 18: Training and capacity building Vision 2025 points out that Total Quality Management can succeed only if the engineers (at various levels), contractor s staff, consultant s experts and laboratory technicians are trained at appropriate level to look for quality. The training should be a continuous process, with skills getting updated as new processes and materials are involved in Rural Roads. Training of contractors and engineers is not yet perceived as being the most crucial element in delivering consistently high quality. Training efforts directed at contractors staff must be an essential part of the contract and states must develop the necessary capacity to impart field level training at the time of commencement of each appropriate stage of works till such time as the contracting industry in the state has developed the requisite critical mass of trained workmen/engineers so as to become self sustaining. Question 18: Is there a Training Plan for the rural road sector in the State? What are the problems if any in capacity building of the sector? What is the current institutional training set up at the State, Circle and District levels, and what are the suggestions for improvement? 12

14 Issue 19: Role for Panchayati Raj Institutions The 12th Finance Commission in their Report has already observed that it is far more important to ensure that assets already created are maintained and yield services as originally envisaged than to go on undertaking commitments for creating more assets. A more detailed study of funds required for maintenance of rural roads on realistic basis should be undertaken by individual states. Successive Finance Commissions from the 11 th Finance Commission onwards have stressed on the need to make adequate financial provision for maintenance of rural roads. The 14 th Finance Commission ( ) has taken a decisive step forward. Where local bodies are concerned, it has recommended distribution of grants to the States using 2011 population data with weight of 90 per cent, and area with weight of 10 per cent. For the period , the grant recommended to Panchayats is Rs. 2,00,292.2 crores. It has recommended grants in two parts a basic grant and a performance grant; 90 per cent of the grant will be the basic grant and 10 per cent will be the performance grant. The purpose of the basic grant is to provide a measure of unconditional support to the Gram Panchayats for delivering the basic functions assigned to them under their respective statutes. Adoption, as recommended by the Finance Commission, of a trust based approach to Panchayati Institutions will break a log jam, and open up new avenues for collaboration across the entire range of Eleventh Schedule subjects. Where rural roads are concerned, it can enable immediate involvement of Panchayats in maintenance functions, since the building of capacity can follow rather than precede the devolution of the function. Question 19: Whether there is a vision for the gradual increase in involvement of PRIs in planning and management of PMGSY rural roads and also for entire rural roads sector in your state? What are the capacity building measures and institutional measures for technical support and accountability that are planned for the purpose? 13

15 Issue 20: Formulation of the Vision Statement Whether the following Statement represents an acceptable Vision for 2040: To provide assured transportation access to people in rural areas for personal mobility, including access by disadvantaged and vulnerable sections, and to facilitate access to essential socioeconomic services including education and health care; and to increase opportunities for livelihoods and increased incomes from agriculture and allied activities as well nonfarm livelihood opportunities, so as to eliminate rural poverty Question 20: Your any specific suggestion for inclusion/modification in the proposed Vision Statement for