Karnataka government to relook white-topping of roads, says CM Bommai

The state government has decided to have a relook on white-topping roads in Bengaluru and other parts of the state considering the high costs involved, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said Thursday.

The government will also formulate a special code to lay new roads and maintain existing ones. It will also re-invite tenders for 12 high density corridors in Bengaluru, as the previous tender was called off, the CM said.

He was responding to queries in the Legislative Council about the state of roads in Bengaluru.

While asphalting a kilometre of road cost Rs 75 lakh to one crore, the cost rose to around Rs 9-10 crore per km of white-topping. "Though white-topped road had low maintenance, the government is having a relook about these roads as the cost was 10 times that of asphalting," Bommai said.

The government will fix norms for roads that require white-topping. Roads with high traffic density and load, and where multi-axle vehicles ply will be considered, he said.

On repairs and filling potholes in various parts of the city, Bommai said that government was looking at measures to ensure that roads once repaired stay intact for a longer period of time.

To a question by Congress MLC S Ravi, he said that Python machines - that fill potholes - were being employed in 182 km of arterial roads in Bengaluru where repair was under progress. "We have decided to use the machines for 442 km roads in the city," he said.

High-density corridor

The government has cancelled the tender for high-density corridors in Bengaluru due to several reasons. The project was estimated at Rs 800 crore which was reduced to Rs 432 crore during the tenure of the previous CM, Bommai said.

The initial tender conditions allowed for the construction of corridors at a cost of Rs 300 crore and allocated Rs 500 crore to maintain roads for a five year period. This condition contradicted PWD code, which mandated a contractor to maintain roads built by them for a period of two years.

"A new tender will be floated shortly at a revised cost," Bommai added.

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