Shillong, Sept 15: The Meghalaya State Planning Board (MSPB) has recommended the need to converge with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) for increasing the road density in the state.
“We have asked the public works department (PWD) to have an engagement with the community rural development (C&RD) department which is also constructing roads in rural villages through the MNREGS,” MSPB Co-chairman John F Kharshiing said.
Addressing newsmen after a review meeting with the officials of the PWD (roads), Kharshiing said the need for convergence is in view that state is having 2977 km of gravel and katcha roads which are yet to be blacktopped.
He informed that while 3672 villages are connected with roads, a total 2354 villages still remain unconnected till today.
The total blacktopped roads in the state are 6689.215 km in which the road density is 43.10 km/100 Sq.km.
Though the PWD had stated that the roads constructed under the MNREGS do not meet the specification for plying of heavy vehicles, Kharshiing however said that the board is of the view that concrete roads can be used by the people especially during emergency.
On the problem of traffic congestion in the city especially in view of non-availability of land for road widening and expansion, the co-chairman said that it is high time that the citizens must come forward and take hard decision if they want to get out of this problem.
“The dorbar shnong too must come forward along with the citizens and take painful decision on the matter,” he said.
He also said that the board has also suggested the need for the state government to intervene for ensuring the Army open the road leading to Lady College in order to ease the traffic congestion in the city.
“If the army is station in the city, they should also accommodate the problems faced by the city,” he said.
On the other hand, the MSPB also expressed concern over the poor geometric in the construction of roads by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) while referring to the incident which killed at least 17 persons in West Khasi Hills District earlier this year.
“We want the state government and the PWD to take up this matter with the NHAI and also directing it to redo the geometric of the roads,” he said.