Maharashtra govt issues guidelines for construction of bridges

The Maharashtra government has come out with guidelines to avoid delay in construction of bridges due to lengthy land acquisition process.

According to a recently issued Government Resolution (GR), the Public Works Department (PWD) will take action and slap a penalty on those not following the norms.

"Construction work of several bridges in the state has remained incomplete because of the delay in acquisition of land for the approach road to bridges. This should be avoided as pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) many a time," the GR stated.

"Therefore, the department engineers should first start the process of land acquisition for the approach road. Unless the department gets possession of the land, tenders should not be called for construction of bridges," it added.

An official from the PWD department said construction of about 75-80 bridges in the state has been stalled due to the delay in land acquisition.

The department has also sought information on the pending bridges and asked for submission of a proposal to acquire land for them.

"Land (for bridges) should be in the government's possession within six months (of notification) and work must get completed in the next 8 months," the GR stated.

"If officials do not follow the guidelines, they will face action in the form of a penalty," it stated.

The GR said before floating tenders, officials should conduct a survey, soil tests, work out estimated cost and fix completion period of projects.