smart roads: A busy street and flyover in Beijing, China. Telegraph picture

In a bid to master the tricks of making good streets and maintaining them, Bihar sent a 20-member team of road construction department engineers to China last month.

The team members went Beijing on July 7. They returned to Patna on July 14.

“During the visit, we took part in a workshop and learnt that the government agencies were the concessionaries (owners, mostly private contractors awarded a project) of the projects. They retain the legal rights of roads and bridges and toll. This can help the government make significant savings as the margin of concessionaries would go to the state exchequer,” said Alok Kumar, the deputy general manager (DGM) of Bihar State Road Development Corporation (BSRDC), one of the team members who went to China.

He said the ministry of transport of China organised the valuable workshop on road information, technological advancement, project, planning and execution in collaboration with Provincial Highway Bureau.

Post-China visit, the team members made a PowerPoint presentation before chief minister Nitish Kumar on the way the Chinese keep their roads in good shape. Impressed by the points brought to his notice during the presentation, Nitish has asked the department to explore the possibility of setting up a horticulture wing in the department for keeping the flanks of the roads green. He also directed to explore the possibilities of framing a road maintenance policy for the state.

Alok said: “After returning to Patna, we made a seven-minute documentary on our visit. It was shown to the chief minister. He was very impressed with it, especially the concept of horticulture wing that takes the responsibility of keeping the flanks of the roads green. The chief minister said our department should also think on making a similar wing so that the roads look green.”

“The basic idea of the wing to create an awareness among the people to keep the city green. The chief minister liked the idea because it gels with the ongoing green campaign in the state,” Alok said.

Another issue discussed with the chief minister was the maintenance of the roads. “In China, maintenance of expressways and national highways are done by toll revenue, whereas the state highways and others are toll free and maintained by fuel cess. The other roads are maintained by contractors. The chief minister has asked us to explore the similar possibilities,” said Alok. A source in road construction department told The Telegraph that the road maintenance policy was being worked out, but the provisions had not yet been finalised.

The BSRDC DGM said the chief minister showed interest in bridges made layer after layer. The road construction department has given an invitation to the ministry of transport, China, to visit Bihar in September. The issue of restructuring Gadhi Setu would be discussed with the Chinese delegation.