Jitin Prasada Interview: ‘Plan afoot to transform road monitoring with digitisation’

We are going to use technology to solve the problems of monitoring and maintenance of the huge network of roads in UP. Apart from the state highways and urban roads, we have about 2 lakh kilometre long rural road network in the state… A considerable amount of work has been undertaken in road connectivity. At the same time, we are focusing on GIS (Global Information System) mapping of all the roads in UP. We have already completed the road mapping work in Bareilly Division. Next will be digitisation of our records and making it available through “Nigrani” app… in such a manner that in one click would tell the person the entire detail of the road.

What is the aim of digitisation?

The PWD consists of three major components— roads, bridges under Bridge Corporation, and construction work under “Nirman Nigam”. The digitisation will help each and every segment, but road monitoring and maintenance would have a large impact on the masses. We are planning to transform the entire system of monitoring roads and their maintenance… Sometimes, people complain about roads and take pictures and upload them online, but then there is confusion in identifying the road, and the agency involved in laying the road. These delayed the process of identifying and resolving the problem and also fixing responsibility. The system we are creating will not just reveal all the details of the road in one click, there will also be a provision to record ditches and bumps if one keeps their phone camera on while using the application on a bad stretch of road. Also, there would be a digital dashboard of roads at the PWD headquarters, with real-time monitoring of roads and bridges. So, if an individual wants to get any road under PWD built or repaired, they will have to just take the photograph and upload it on the application.

Is the government planning to come up with a new monitoring and maintenance policy?

While monitoring and maintenance guidelines for certain roads already exist, we are planning to come up with a 5-year monitoring and maintenance policy for all kinds of roads… which will help fix responsibilities.

Are there any specific plans to strengthen rural road network?

The traffic burden on rural roads has increased. Thus, strengthening rural roads is our priority. Moreover, the business environment of UP is changing with people ready to invest in the state. Therefore, we plan to explore the option of private partnership in strengthening and widening of rural roads that might generate some earnings. This earning would then be used to improve the quality of rural roads. The UP State Highway Authority has used a revenue model, but we plan to explore public-private partnership.