THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The use of rubber, waste plastic and geo-textiles as ‘ingredients’ has been made compulsory in road construction in the state, Works Minister G Sudhakaran said in the Assembly on Monday. “Instructions have been given to the effect that the use of either of these materials or all three is compulsory. We have so far built 1,200 km using these materials in the past 21 months,” he said, adding the use of these materials along with bitumen will increase the quality and longevity of roads.
The government has also decided to increase the defect liability period in road contracts from three years to seven, he said. With this, the contractor will be accountable for maintenance of roads for seven years.
In certain city road projects such as the Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project, the concession period is 15 years.
The question hour of the Assembly also witnessed the Works Minister lamenting that Keralites utterly lack a “road culture”.While new and wider roads are being constructed, the tendency for haphazard parking and encroachment causes difficulties to motorists, he said.