GUWAHATI, June 24 - Grappling to cope with shortage of construction materials, the Public Works Department (PWD) has decided to use a new technology to cut down the requirement of materials as well as build roads which are more durable and need less maintenance.
The department has zeroed in on a soil stabilizer and pavement material, which will be used in some projects of the newly sanctioned 4,000 km of PMGSY roads.
Application of the material before the commencement of the road construction will increase the strength of the roads, reduce the time of construction, make the soil water resistant and prevents damage to road foundations, a senior PWD official told The Assam Tribune, adding that it will also cut down construction and maintenance costs.
The soil stabilizer will create a strong and irreversible impermeable layer which is resistant to adverse climatic conditions, and will provide a stabilised base that will be highly resistant to formation of potholes in the future, the official said. The officials hoped that 20 per cent less construction material will be required with the application of the soil stabilizer.
Meanwhile, the under-fire Forest Department has made a proposal to the PWD that it was ready to lease out some stone quarries to �big time� road contractors.
�The Forest Department has identified six such quarries. According to their proposal, the PWD will have to give an indent (regarding the requirement). However, the contractor who will be given the quarry on lease will have to supply 20 per cent of the materials to the public,� PWD sources said.
The PWD is weighing the pros and cons of the proposal.
Road construction in several districts of the State, especially Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup, Nagaon, Darrang, Goalpara and Bongaigaon have been hit by shortage of construction materials.
Around 100 projects � small and big � are ongoing in Guwahati alone and most of them have been stalled due to shortage of construction materials.
Supply of materials from Meghalaya has almost stopped as the quarries in the neighbouring State have been entangled in legal hassles.
