Now Polymer-based Roads in Chhattisgarh

     Raipur, January 10, 2012: Government of India today sanctioned three roads using latest Polymer based technologies in the hyper Maoists violence hit districts of Chhattisgarh, officials said.

     All the three roads would be constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Dantewada, Bijapur and Narayanpur districts of Chhattisgarh, officials told ChhattisgarhTopNews.Com here.

     The Union Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned the three road projects using latest Polymer-based technologies, with a cost of Rs 7 crore, they said.

     These roads would be constructed using the latest soil stabilisation techniques, which is an in-situ method of stabilising the soil with Polymer in the liquid form, they said adding the technology had been accredited by Indian Road Congress and also laboratory tests had been carried out at IIT, Kharagpur.

     One of the main problems in the construction of roads in remote forested areas is the non-availability of stone aggregate and it was observed during the recent visit of Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh to Narayanpur that the aggregate required for the road construction was being brought in from at least 100 km away, they said.

     The stone crushing units and quarries were not available in these areas as most of the land have been under forest category and therefore, de-reservation procedures have to be followed to divert forest land, the officials said.

     These problems have delayed the road construction works in these areas, apart from increasing the costs. Resultant lack of good connectivity has wide implications for the overall development activities and inclusive growth, particularly in such Maoists-affected areas, they said.

      Moreover, the new technology, besides reducing the time for construction, would also save valuable forest area from being diverted, they added.