Noida Authority to allow road digging only on weekend

NOIDA: Cutting up any public road is all set to get streamlined in Noida. Pravir Kumar, Chairperson of three development authorities of Gautam Budh Nagar on Monday has said that roads being cut up to install utility lines— sewage, water, electricity, optical fibre network and telephone—will only be allowed to be dug up on Saturday and Sunday. In an attempt to closely monitor private contractors who dig up trenches along the city’s major routes, the civic body will also give permission for road stretches with a specific deadline for completing the works.Anyone found to be flouting norms will invite strict action, officials said.
The trend of haphazard cutting and digging up of roads, coupled with the tendency to leave the road to its fate after one’s purpose is served, has prompted Kumar to think of initiating strict procedures, including revenue recovery, against those indulging in such practices. “After taking permission for digging up a particular road, contractors will have to complete the work within a certain time-frame the same day. If someone digs up a road and does not restore it properly within a stipulated time-frame, we will initiate action,” said Saumya Srivastava, Deputy CEO, Noida Authority.
“We will also ensure that they dig only for the permitted stretch and finish it within the specified time to avoid inconvenience to the public," the DCEO said. "It will be easier to monitor the project if the work is carried out in smaller segments with specific deadlines,” he said. “What ails city's roads is patchwork repairs and other agencies digging up roads and not restoring them. It is mainly because of the latter that the citizens are put to hardship,” he added.
Time for digging up the roads has also been fixed by Noida Authority. “Digging will be allowed only between 10 pm and 6 am so that traffic movement is not disrupted,” Srivastava said.