ROAD DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Introduction
Present Road Network Status
Current Road Transport Status
Current Institutional Framework
Financing The Road Sector
Road Development Policy - Principal Objectives
Specific Policy Approach
Strategy and Approach
Implementation

Mizoram is an industrially backward State with the vast majority of its people living below the poverty line. The growth of population in the State during the last one decade has been 29.18% as against the national average of 21.34%, to a current population size of 8.91 lakh. Given the State’s geographical area of 21,087 sq. kms, Mizoram has a population density of 42 per sq. km, compared to the all-India average of 324 per sq. km.

The State has good potential for economic growth in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, tourism, handicraft, etc. Universally, the development of infrastructure, particularly transport infrastructure, is a key prerequisite for economic development. However, in Mizoram, the lack of adequate transport infrastructure has been the major inhibiting factor on its economic growth and development.

Being a hilly state with difficult terrain and climatic conditions, transport infrastructure in Mizoram is essentially road based. While there is a small metre-gauge rail link at Bairabi (about 130 kms from Aizawl), as well as a recently commissioned airport at Lengpui (44 kms from Aizawl), for most community, business and personal purposes in Mizoram, road transport is the only principal means of communication.

The initiatives of the State Government to promote various development activities and thus alleviate the poverty of the people are largely dependent on the capability of the road network to carry passengers and goods traffic efficiently and economically. A well laid out and well maintained road network is, therefore, essential for cost effective movement of people and materials, without which trade and industry also cannot maintain a competitive edge.

In recognition of these factors, and to provide a strategic framework for the management of Mizoram’s road network henceforth, the State Government has established this "Road Development Policy", covering the period 2001-2007.

Today, Mizoram is connected with a network of primary and secondary roads having a total length of about 6840 kms. Of this, 4430 kms (64.77%) are under state PWD, 1790 kms (26.17%) under Border Roads Organisation and the remaining 620 kms (9.06%) are specific purpose link roads constructed by Rural Development, Agriculture, Horticulture, Soil Conservation and Forest Departments. While there has been 7.81% increase in road density in the state during the last ten years, the current road density of 32.43 kms / 100 sq. kms is below India’s national average of 48.80 kms /100 sq. kms.

The category-wise distribution of Mizoram’s present road network is given below.

Table 1 : Composition of Road Network

All of Mizoram’s 23 towns and 341 of its 764 villages have now been connected by all weather roads. While 338 more villages are connected with fair weather roads, 85 villages are not yet connected by any type of roads. The majority of earthen roads connecting villages are ‘Jeepable links’ of unspecified standard.

Almost 50% of the total road network has bituminous surfaces. Excepting NH-54, which is under upgradation to double-lane standards, all Mizoram roads are single lane, having carriageway widths of mostly 3.00 metres.

Most of Mizoram’s bitumen-surfaced roads are in very poor condition, with potholes, ruts, cracks and other signs of pavement distress showing at many places, reflecting lack of sustained maintenance. The terrain is hilly and the roads have to negotiate steep gradients and sharp curves. Given the poor road conditions and generally bad geometry, the travel on the roads in Mizoram is not only inefficient and uneconomical but also hazardous and unsafe, resulting sometimes in serious accidents.

Considering the importance of the roads to the State’s socio-economic development, major road rehabilitation, maintenance and upgradation efforts are needed in Mizoram. This will require significantly increased road funding commitments, well beyond the State’s normal budgetary allocations for the road sector as well as upgraded road maintenance strategies and practices.

The traffic on roads in Mizoram consists mainly of passenger and goods vehicles. Except for a few handcarts noticed at some locations, the slow moving vehicles are non-existent. However, overall, with the pace of economic development picking up in Mizoram, the volume of road traffic has increased quite significantly over the past few years. There has been a steady growth in the number of vehicles registered in Mizoram, as outlined in the table below.

Passenger vehicles (buses, cars, jeeps, two-wheelers) constitute about 88 % of the total vehicle population in the year 2000. Amongst the passenger vehicles, cars, jeeps, etc. represent the highest share of passenger transport constituting 44 %, with two-wheelers as the second highest at 41 %, while buses represent only about 3 % of the total number of vehicles. The low proportion of goods vehicles - about 10 % of the total vehicle population - is indicative of the relatively low economic activity within the state. Most truck and bus traffic in Mizoram involves inter-state movement of vehicles registered outside Mizoram.

While the capital city, Aizawl, faces the problem of traffic congestion, the volume of traffic on roads in the rural areas of Mizoram is generally low. The main thrust of road planning in rural areas has thus been connectivity. The state government is now also prioritising the removal of transport bottlenecks to further improve the economic and living condition of rural populace.

The main Mizoram institutions currently sharing responsibility for the functioning of and needs in the roads sector are detailed below.

The Public Works Department (PWD) is mainly responsible for planning, design, financing, construction, and maintenance of the state’s road network and buildings. The principal PWD functions are:

The PWD organization structure is made up of the "Head Office" located at Aizawl and the outlying "Field Offices" (Circles and Divisions). The Head Office is responsible for the overall planning, design and monitoring activities, while the execution work throughout Mizoram is carried out by the Circles/ Divisions. At present, there are no separate wings for road and building works in the PWD organizational structure, which is headed by the Engineer-in-Chief ’.

The Planning Department is responsible for preparing the State’s Five Year and Annual Plans, in consultation with other GOM departments such as the PWD. These plans cover outlays for capital investments and development of new services.

The Finance Department headed by Finance Commissioner & Secy. has the following key functions:

The State Budget includes plan expenditures for roads based on the annual "plan", and "non-plan" expenditures such as the salaries of GOM employees and the funding of road maintenance.

The Transport Department is the regulatory authority for transport in Mizoram. It is headed by the Transport Secretary and is mainly responsible for registration, licensing and control of passenger and cargo transport vehicles; collection of vehicle purchase taxes and annual taxes on commercial vehicles; annual technical and ‘pollution control’ inspections of vehicles; licensing of drivers; and the enforcement of provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, the Central Motor Vehicles Rules and the Mizoram Vehicle Taxation Rules.

FINANCING THE ROAD SECTOR

The funding of road upgradation and maintenance programs of the Public Works Department (PWD) depends mainly on State and Central Government allocations. For major initiatives such as the planned Mizoram State Roads Project (MSRP), resources may also come from international development funding institutions like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and/or the UN. It is important to note that the MSRP will be the first time that the GOM has received any international development funding assistance.

Funding for Road Works: Five Year Plans and Annual Plans

The planning and budgeting for State road projects has been done via Five Year Plans (FYPs), which covers activities of all GOM Departments. The FYP identifies major categories of projects for implementation, and indicates physical targets for achievement and anticipated outlays.

For the present Ninth Five Year Plan 1997-2002 an allocation of Rs 189.72 crores has been proposed for the road sector. The strategy during the Ninth FYP has been (i) to complete the ongoing projects; and (ii) provide road connectivity to unconnected villages.

The following Table shows the plan allocations during the last three Five-Year Plans for development and maintenance of roads.

Table 3: Plan Allocation

                                                                                                         (in Rs Lakh)

The state’s main plan allocation for roads has also been augmented by Mizoram’s share of North Eastern Council (NEC) plan funds for the road sector, and the funds available under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadhak Yojona (PMGSY) scheme specifically for Village Roads.

The funds provided under the budget allocations and NEC schemes do not meet the huge investments needed for rehabilitation, upgrading and maintaining of the existing road network, and less so for new construction, including bypasses and road connections.

The provision for maintenance and repairs in the State budget is based on the Maintenance and Repair Norms fixed by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORT&H), Government of India. These norms which were established in 1988, form the basis of the 9th Finance Commission Report for the year 1990-91 to 1994-95 and subsequent reports.

However, the PWD of Mizoram has developed its own norms for equitable distribution of available fund which was issued in the document titled "Guidelines and Norms for Maintenance of Roads in Mizoram ". The intention of this norm is fixation of minimum labor requirement for various types of maintenance works and then determine fund requirement. This norm comprised of two sections:

Section I: Deals with the Components of the Maintenance and Special Problems in Hill Roads; and

Section II: Outlines the criteria adopted and norms proposed, mainly those related to Road Gangs, Monitoring, Documentation and Returns.

The norms bear evidence to GOM concern about the poor road maintenance and the rapid deterioration of the road network, and the costs this represents annually to the State economy and the road users

In assessing the requirements of funds for road maintenance, it is a matter of public record that in the last five years, the allocation for road maintenance has been much less than the estimated requirements as per the norms (average 36% of the requirements). The percentage has been coming down progressively from 60% during 1990-91 to 32% for 1999-2000. Considering the amount of resources needed and those available, it is becoming crucial to mobilize additional funds for rehabilitation, upgradation and maintenance of the State’s Roads.

The main components of the central government’s General Taxation system include fuel taxes, customs duties, excise taxes, and fees on services. The main components of the State's General Taxation system are sales taxes, registration fees and fees on services. Both levels in effect draw revenue from road transport.

For roads-related taxation, the breakdown is:

•     Road tax
•     Fees collected from driver's license
             Fees collected from tourist vehicles
•     Sales tax on petroleum products
•     Passenger and goods tax

The State's sales taxation system applies to all transport equipment and petroleum products. Taxes generated from the transport sector are deposited in the State's general fund. There are no State taxes specifically levied on road transport that are dedicated for the construction and maintenance of the State road network.

Two State taxes are of particular interest as potential sources of funds dedicated to road improvements and maintenance, namely the registration tax on vehicles and the sales tax on fuels.

The rate of sales tax in Mizoram seems to be comparatively lower than those in the neighboring States. For example, in Assam the rates of sales tax on motor spirit, lubricant, HSD and LPG are 25%, 12%, 16% and 12% respectively; the Mizoram figures by comparison are motor spirit 20%, lubricant 8%, HSD 12% and LPG 8%.

The Central Government collects excise duty on fuel and part of it is transferred to the State under the Central Road Fund (CRF). The main objective of the Fund, which is maintained by the Central Government, is to provide finance for the development of the road network in the country.

As per the original criteria, 35.5% of the Fund is to be used for National Highways, 0.5% for administration and the remaining 64% should be utilized for development and maintenance of roads on the basis of petrol and diesel consumption in the respective State/Union Territory. In practice, the Central Government has failed to earmark the Fund as per the criteria for road development in general and to each state in particular. The Central Government has since this year decided that henceforth, of the CRF accumulations, 50 % of the cess on diesel will go for rural roads and of the balance 50 % of diesel + full cess on petrol, 57.5 % will go to NHs, 30 % for State Roads and 12.5 % for Road over Bridges. These funds are now available for development of State Roads.

However, it cannot be overemphasized that the road sector should be provided with the required resources by earmarking higher percentage of total revenue collected, and/or mobilization of additional resources through new taxes and charges and/or increasing the current rates.

ROAD DEVELOPMENT POLICY- PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

The key objectives of GOM’s Road Development Policy are expressed in the form of priorities and targets in the Five Year Plans (FYP).

For the "9^th Five Year Plan 1997-2002" and in the "Draft 10^th Five Year Plan 2002-2007", these objectives are:

• Completion of ongoing projects and essential maintenance

• Provision of road connectivity to unconnected villages

For the 9^th FYP, the Planning Commission gave first priority to Agriculture and Rural Development Programs, with particular emphasis on self-sufficiency in food production, employment generation and eradication of poverty. Road programs came as a second priority, together with the power sector.

The overall development policies of Govt. of Mizoram aim at rapid economic and social upliftment, while simultaneously ensuring that the growth achieved is balanced, and the accruing benefits are evenly spread. The development of an important agriculture economy and the priority that the 9^th FYP gave to this sector, could trigger future development of agro-industry. This can be sustained only with a reasonably efficient road network. Roads are also needed to tap other potential areas for development such as industry and tourism, and also as an important means of socio-economic development and integration.

As part of its initiatives to upgrade, rehabilitate and maintain the state roads network, Government of Mizoram has decided to seek external finance and assistance for a major program of upgradation works and maintenance. In this program, GOM will also continue to implement significant measures aimed at the institutional strengthening of the GOM agencies involved in the road sector, particularly the PWD, with a view to ensuring the future sustainability and value of its road network assets.

With special Government of India (GOI) and World Bank assistance, GOM has been preparing a major roads upgradation, rehabilitation and maintenance project, covering upgradation of about 184 km of the State’s road network, comprising SH and MDR and maintenance of about 520 km of the road network mainly of ODRs and VRs. The objectives of this Mizoram State Roads Project (MSRP) are to:

Reduce transport costs and transport constraints on economic activity;

Improve riding quality and capacity of selected state road segments;

Reduce backlog of periodic maintenance on the core road network and developing a maintenance prioritization and programming system; and

Improve GOM’s road sector institutional capabilities by strengthening the PWD and establishing effective systems and procedures for road planning, budgeting, financing, procurement, contract administration, monitoring, financial management and stakeholder consultation, environmental and social impact management, Land Acquisition and Resettlement.

These MSRP objectives are fully aligned with key aspects of the road policy.

SPECIFIC POLICY AIMS

The road development policy is aimed at providing an efficient, sustainable road network across the state, to meet the main transportation needs of every user group by maintaining cost optimality and proper inter modal mix, while aiming through connectivity and easier access (being basic to all other developmental activities) to integrate the backward and far flung areas into the road network.

The specific aims of the policy are as follows:

To provide an adequate and efficient road system encompassing all transportation needs so as to ensure smooth and uninterrupted flow of goods and passenger traffic both within the State as well as on inter-state routes

To provide connectivity to all remaining recognised villages by all weather roads for improvement in quality of life in rural areas, better access to all essential services and for removal of regional imbalances in the road system

To establish appropriate social and environmental management policies and practices for prevention and mitigation of adverse impacts of road construction, operation and maintenance on the environment, communities and public life, while constraining ribbon development, encroachment and/or misuse of roadways in Mizoram

To utilize and optimize past road investments by providing feeder roads to the existing main roads

To preserve road assets by ensuring timely and adequate road maintenance

To implement more rational, cost-effective methods of resource allocation and usage for maintenance and construction programs

To ensure an adequate flow of additional financial resources for road development and maintenance works, in the form of ‘road fund’

Through collaboration between responsible GOM agencies, to develop and implement high sustainable standards of road safety among both road users and the roadside population

To bring about major organisational, procedural, business-practice and skills improvements in the Public Works Department, matching its enhanced responsibilities for road network development and roads asset management

To foster effective private sector participation in all aspects of Mizoram road development, construction and maintenance programs to sustain competitive practices, technologies, costs and quality in outcomes

To support progressive upgradation of Mizoram construction and maintenance technology and practices for sustainable improvements in the quality and cost-effectiveness of maintenance operation.

To facilitate greater public information and accountability in roads matters

STRATEGY AND APPROACH

To cater for the growing transportation and social needs of the state, the road network is planned and proposed for improvement and upgradation by: -

Meaningful and successful implementation of the above road upgradation and improvement programs would require massive capital investment which cannot possibly come from any single source of funding. A multi pronged strategy for sourcing of funds for the purpose shall have to be adopted.

The present procedure for budget allocation of funds based on a percentage of the norm requirements (the percentage is getting smaller) and the excessive use of traditional (and mostly outdated) labor-intensive maintenance method do not meet the proper maintenance requirements, and frequently results in waste of resources.

The following approach is recommended for strengthening road maintenance planning and implementation.

At present the allocation of funds for maintenance is under what is called non - plan budget. That allocation also includes general administration and overhead expenses. In fact, maintenance should be considered as an investment and not as expense. The provision of maintenance funds in the budget should include both periodic and routine maintenance.

The PWD maintenance norms should be revised to take into account (i) current and projected traffic volumes; (ii) road standards requirements; and (iii) modern maintenance practices. Based on these revised norms, a Maintenance Management System (MMS) needs to be developed for planning, prioritizing and budgeting maintenance of the major road network.

MMS inputs would include data on road condition, traffic volumes, Vehicle Operating Cost) VOC and maintenance costs. MMS outputs would provide guidance on the types of maintenance intervention to be applied to achieve maximum return on maintenance investments, and would thus assist PWD to rationalize the distribution of maintenance funds to various roads and sections.

Regarding bridge inspection and maintenance, it is recommended that mobile bridge inspection unit be established, and its staff trained in inspection of major bridges and identification of structural and other defects. Data from bridge inspections would be used to plan and execute bridge maintenance interventions under the MMS.

Instead of the present labor-intensive maintenance system, involving the use of road gangs over short road stretches, a new approaches for periodic and routine maintenance of major roads are called for. This will include the performance of most cyclical and routine maintenance by contractors, and for emergency maintenance operations, the development of mobile maintenance units and introduction of cost-effective, innovative maintenance equipment.

Contractors could be engaged for routine maintenance of selected road sections for a period of one or two years, under performance based contracts that would specify the standard of maintenance to be achieved, and the equipment to be provided by the contractors for effective execution of maintenance activities.

Regarding PWD’s road equipment, it will be periodically audited to identify items, which are obsolete, inoperable or uneconomical. Such units should be auctioned or otherwise properly disposed of. The proceeds from such equipment disposals may be used towards the procurement of new equipment. These new equipments when combined with the remaining equipment fleet could form the basis of small well-equipped brigades for urgent and or emergency maintenance and repair works.

PWD should also procure equipment required for modern road maintenance and operations, such as pavement markers, maintenance vehicles, and weighbridges for axle load surveys and control.

PWD's workshops should also be downsized. They could continue performing routine equipment maintenance, but all major repairs and overhauls should be done under contract with private facilities.

The investment in the road infrastructure development will be prioritised to ensure optimum utilisation of available resources. Strategic Options Studies (SOS) will be carried out to establish a rationale for prioritizing road investment. The prioritization of road development / improvement program will be based on the consideration of following main factors.

• Principal corridors of travel

• Condition of the existing road network

• Terrain and road geometry

• Linkage to centres of industrial growth, public utility centres, agricultural produce market centres, etc.

• Road connectivity

• Missing links

• Socio-economic considerations

• Environmental factors

State government shall take various measures for generating revenues for road maintenance and development. To manage funds for road development and maintenance, the state government will have to set up 'State Road Fund'. The main source of revenue could be 50% of incremental revenue accrued from the following taxes.

Presently, the revenue collected from road tax, driving license fees and tax on fuels is deposited in the state treasury and not transferred to PWD for road construction or maintenance. In order to utilize these funds for road maintenance etc., it is proposed to transfer the fund to PWD for which legislative enactment will be proposed.

Based on the recommendations given in Institutional Development Study (IDS) report (December 1999), it is proposed to restructure PWD to streamline its functions and make it an effective organisation for development and maintenance of road network in Mizoram. The restructuring is to be implemented in two phases (short and medium term) with the overall theme of structuring the Department along functional lines more clearly distinguishing between the Roads and Buildings functions.

PWD Circles would continue operating as they are now, and would be involved in all PWD major roads, rural roads and building activities within their area of jurisdiction. This arrangement is considered appropriate for the short term. For the medium term, to avoid duplications in PWD’s field organization, the existing arrangement of circles would be re-examined. The Circles are headed by Superintending Engineer (SE) assisted by Executive Engineer (EE) and Assistant Engineer (AE).

The role of information technology for efficient and streamlined functioning of any organisation is well recognised. Appropriate software packages for Project Monitoring Card Control, Pavement Management System (PMS) and Financial Management System (FMS) need to be developed and established for use in PWD. The personnel dealing with these functions will be suitably trained in the use of these systems. PWD will also extend the use of computers and furnish the required software, electronic mail facilities etc. to other sections and field units. It will gradually connect its computer systems through Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN). Public information on PWD programs and outcomes will also become more available in future as and when the department’s IT capabilities grow and consolidate.

Adopting Indian Roads Congress classification and specification for roads, Mizoram prepared a decade plan with an aim of connecting all towns and village by all weather roads before the end of 2010. The implementation of the project and achievement of this target will however depend on the availability of the required funds.

Most important is that the rural roads are planned for upgradation and improvement under Prime Minister's Rural Development Scheme with funds provided by Government of India. Improvement, upgradation, widening and realignment / regrading of selected roads will be undertaken in a phased manner.

As far as possible, adequate funds will be provided for meaningful progress until completion of the project. For maintenance, it is proposed to increase road maintenance funds to 80% of the requirement for core network of roads in the state.

State Government has taken initiative for demarcation of right of way (ROW) of all roads in the state to avoid future problems in widening or improvement of the roads in accordance with its 1/11/1999 Notification concerning the principles of government ownership of land. However, the interests of the people presently dependent on the ROW will be safeguarded. Acquisition of privately owned land and resettlement and rehabilitation of the project-affected people, if required, will be properly done in advance, before establishing government ownership of required land and before execution of works. It is proposed to erect pillars at certain intervals on both sides of the roads to indicate highway land and to prevent encroachment.

Quality control in construction and maintenance of roads is very essential for the development of a reliable and durable road network. Quality standards and procedures based on Indian Roads Congress and Bureau of Indian Standards will be used to ensure proper quality control.

The following arrangements will be made to ensure the required quality in the construction works.

1. PWD will be the nodal department for all works related to roads in the state.

2. The recently created Quality Control unit headed by a Divisional Engineer and assisted by three sub-divisional officers will be strengthened and upgraded with the aim of developing it as a substantial element of the PWD in the future. The PWD will arrange for the training of its quality control personnel at the Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi on a regular basis and also by engaging Consultants and experts for training.

3. The Quality Control Unit will be required to have frequent quality check of all projects at specified intervals

4. As far as possible, latest techniques will be used for construction and maintenance of roads and bridges

ENVIRONMENT

While taking up new road construction project, particular ‘end to end’ attention will be paid to conserve the environment, and to properly design and execute construction and associated operations. Apart from taking any other necessary mitigation measures, extensive tree plantations will be undertaken along roadsides through social forestry.

At the present juncture, there does not appear to be much scope for attracting private investments in the road sector. So far, the use of Consultants for studies, designs and undertaking Construction Supervision works has been very limited. PWD staff has carried out most of the designs and supervision works. It is, however recognized that even with upgradation of the human resource capacity of PWD in different areas of specialization, PWD will not have sufficient in-house resources and expertise to undertake studies, designs and construction supervision work for major road and bridge works visualized / planned in the future. The State Government shall encourage deployment of private firms/ companies for consultancy services to perform strategic option study, feasibility study, preparation of detail project reports, investigation and study of bridges sites, etc. etc. Construction firms/ companies may also be engaged for major projects. The State Government may also encourage such agencies to undertake routine, periodic and emergency maintenance works. Parties for such works will be selected on the basis of open competitive bidding ensuring transparency and equal opportunity to bidders. Selection will be based on evaluation of bids by Evaluation Committee consisting of not less than three officers set up for the purpose.

IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of the new Road Development Policy shall be the responsibility of the Public Works Department through a special implementation cell for ensuring speedy disposal.The State Government shall set up a High Level Committee headed by the Chief Secretary to review the progress and implementation of the policy. The progress made, problems faced and new proposals on the implementation of the road policy will be periodically reported to the State Government.