Motorable roads within 48 hours of digging, say guidelines

The road dug up for laying pipelines for the city gas project (CGD) should be made motorable by the implementing agency or company within 48 hours, while full restoration must be completed within 30 days, according to the Uniform Guidelines for granting Right of Way (ROW) and Right of Usage (ROU) on assets of local self-government institutions (LSGIs) for laying underground gas pipelines, notified by the Local Self-Government department in September 2020.

However, this condition stands in stark contrast to the inordinately delayed road restoration works in many local bodies, including the Kochi Corporation, in the district. In cases of defective restoration or failure by the implementing agency to rectify the same, the performance guarantee shall be forfeited, and the work will be carried out by the LSGI at the agency’s expense.

The guidelines further state that the schedule for trenching and backfilling must be submitted well before the commencement of work. The implementing agency is required to inform the LSGI secretary of the schedule for road cutting or any pipeline-laying activity at least seven days in advance. Besides, the secretary must be notified 24 hours prior to the start of trenching, and the daily progress of the work must be reported to the LSGI office during the execution. The work must be completed within the scheduled period as specified in the final approval issued by the secretary.

The work shall be carried out without causing any hindrance to traffic, including pedestrians, or inconvenience to the public. Care shall be taken to avoid damage to the carriageway. “Necessary supervisory personnel shall be deployed at the site by the concessionaire for the CGD project during the execution of works, and a copy of the sanction order, along with other relevant details, shall be kept by the official for inspection at any time.”

M.G. Aristotle, UDF parliamentary party secretary, alleged that most of the guidelines were being observed in the breach. “Question marks remain over the deposit of funds for restoration work and adherence to the project timeline,” he said.

The entire cost of road trenching, restoration, and related activities shall be borne by the implementing agency. The agency may undertake trenching and restoration of roads on its own, under the supervision of LSGI officials, provided this intention is conveyed at the time of seeking approval from the LSGI.

In such cases, the roads must be restored to their original standard within the time frame stipulated by the LSGI. The agency shall also remit, as security for one year, a bank guarantee amounting to 10% of the total cost of trenching and restoration, including the centage charge specified by the Public Works department for that particular category of road.