ZP lacks funds to repair roads and bridges in the district

Aura

ngabad, Sept 29:
The works department of the Zilla Parishad (ZP) is collecting information about the roads and bridges that have been washed away due to heavy rains in the district. Funds of Rs 17.48 crore are required for 133 roads and Rs 1.38 crore for repair of 20 bridges. The proposal for repair of roads and bridges will be submitted to the government in October through ZP, said Z A Qazi of the works department.

There are 6,655 Km of rural roads and district roads under the jurisdiction of ZP. The funds for repair and maintenance are approved under the district annual plan. Funds of Rs 40 to 50 crores are being sanctioned under the rural road development program-3054 and district road development program-5054. It costs around Rs 25 to 30 lakhs for asphalting of one kilometre of road. Hence only 150 to 175 km of roads are asphalted every year. In September-October 2019, 99 small bridges in Aurangabad, Phulambri, Kannad, Sillod and Soygaon tehsils were damaged. A proposal of Rs 27.76 crore was made to the rural development department for repair work. This year, paved roads have been washed away in the rainy season. Therefore, additional chief executive officer Santosh Kawade on September 4, has written to Nilesh Thakur, section officer, rural development, seeking approval for the repair works. According to the officials of the works department, 99 roads and bridges were damaged last year and a total of 252 roads and bridges, including 133 roads and 20 bridges this year, were damaged due to heavy rains. Funding for unpaved roads has not been available for many years. Despite repeated correspondence and follow-up, road repairs are likely to get stuck in red tape again due to coronavirus. From the district annual plan, Rs 25 crore has been sanctioned for rural road development program, Rs 25 crore has been approved for district road development program and Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned for rural pilgrimage development program. However, there are pending payments for the work done in 2018-19. Similarly, only 33 per cent of the funding will be available due to the Corona crisis. Hence, no new work will be done as funds will be spent on previous payments.