NSV Technology: Bihar to adopt tamper-proof laser for road quality control

The department has relied on manual verification of quality control measures until now, which was not only costly and time-consuming but also prone to fudging, as stipulated under the International Roughness Index (IRI).

It has now decided to use the laser-based Network Survey Vehicle (NSV) technology, which was recently introduced to check the quality of the construction of national highways.

Bihar has around 4,000 km of state highways, 11,000 km of major district roads and 5,000 km of national highways. NSV technology equipped vehicles come with a high-resolution camera and laser-beam throwing capacity to assess and record the condition of roads beneath the surface.

Amrit Lal Meena, Additional Chief Secretary, RCD, told the media that the new technology would ensure that the contractors are penalised suitably for not adhering to the quality control measures. Meena cited the manual inspection of the road as a vigorous exercise, and that it costs a considerable sum as road maintenance was brought under the Bihar Public Grievances Resolution Rights Act.

She said that the policy included provisions for high-level inspection of the projects. As per the RCD's maintenance policy, contractors are obliged to maintain roads for a duration of seven years after their completion.

The executive engineers have been advised to engage among 41 firms, empanelled by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), for quicker and digitised survey of roads for timely maintenance.

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