USING PLASTIC IN ROADS MADE MANDATORY IN GURUGRAM
GURUGRAM: Nearly a year after it constructed the city’s first-ever plastic road in Sector 51, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has now made the use of plastic waste mandatory in the construction of arterial roads.
MCG chief engineer Raman Sharma said that henceforth all tenders will be floated with this clause and the concessionaires will have to procure plastic waste from MCG’S shredding centre in Begumpur Khatola.
“In December last year, we had constructed the first-ever plastic road in the city, a 100-metre stretch in Sector 51. We found plastic roads to be extremely durable. The use of plastic lowered our maintenance costs as it does not allow water to stagnate and form potholes. Hence, we have passed a rule mandating the use of plastic in road construction falling under MCG’S jurisdiction,” said Sharma.
The development comes in the backdrop of MCG starting construction of 10-kilometre roads with plastic waste — four km in Sushant Lok 1 and six km in Palam Vihar last week.
The shredding centre operated by KK Plastics, MCG’S concessionaire, sells plastic at ₹23 per kg. Opened on May 18, the centre has so far sold 26 tonnes of plastic waste. Ten tonnes of plastic has been procured by the MCG, six tonnes by civic authorities in Noida, one tonne by civic authorities in Okhla, one tonne by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the Sohna elevated road project and eight tonne for the Delhi-meerut expressway, said officials of the company.
“Plastic road is a proven concept and has been implemented at many places in India and globally. It is known for low maintenance costs and higher longevity. Recently, the NHAI has also started using it on a mass scale. It has approval from all recognised bodies governing road and traffic,” said Sarika Panda Bhatt, programme coordinator with Haryana Vision Zero.