HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy has underscored the need for transparency in all works undertaken by the Roads and Buildings Department.

He called upon engineers to take up quality works and avoid criticism about corruption. Stating that the department was accountable to people for all works, Dr. Reddy said State should become role model for others.

Dr. Reddy, who was speaking at a workshop on `Quality assurance and adopting new techniques for sustainable development' organised by the R & B department here on Saturday, stressed the need for capacity building among engineers by adopting latest technologies to improve quality of work. He said the Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) system was yielding good results. He advised contractors to avoid enhancing the cost of works once they are grounded.

Surprise checks

He exhorted engineers to go on surprise checks regularly to ensure that executed works were of high quality, which brought down maintenance cost. Third party quality control checks had been introduced to grade works. Dr. Reddy said if engineers paid attention to minute details during road-laying works, road accidents would come down drastically.

The Chief Minister also unveiled the Andhra Pradesh Road Policy (2005-15), which emphasises on technology upgradation, institutional strengthening and overall cost effectiveness. The objectives of the policy include development of an efficient road network that facilitates sustainable and well-regulated socio-economic development.

It intends to strengthen the delivery capacity by organisational, procedural and skill improvements. Enhancing funds inflow to the sector by generating additional resources and encouraging private sector investments is also another.

R&B Minister J. Ramamohan Rao said Rs. 500 crores to Rs. 700 crores were being spent on improvement of road network in the urban and rural areas. Ministers -- K. Jana Reddy, N. Rajyalaxmi and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Government Whip D. Sridhar Babu and Secretary (R&B) Binoy Kumar, were present.

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