Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, July 1: District Road Safety Committee has directed for safety audit of various vital roads of Border Roads Organization, Public Works Department and PMGSY in the district.
In view of dilapidated condition of roads, poor maintenance and large scale encroachments reducing the driving space, obstruction in drainage and other issues the safety audit has been ordered to be conducted which will form basis for directions to executing agencies and fixing responsibility.
Safety audit of Koteranka-Khwas road will be conducted by ExEn PMGSY, Tehsildar Koteranka, AEE PWD Koteranka, SHO and District Traffic Inspector. Audit of BRO roads Rajouri-Thanamandi and Tralla-Koteranka will be conducted by ExEn PWD Rajouri, ExEn REW, ARTO and DySP traffic in presence of BRTF officials.
Addl DDC will conduct safety audit of Dhangri-Chichrool PMGSY road and will also supervise the safety audit of other roads. Meanwhile, Superintending Engineer PWD R&B and ExEn PMGSY have been asked to furnish traffic safety status of all the roads constructed and manned by PWD.
District Road Safety Committee headed by District Magistrate Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary will review the safety audit in 2nd week of this month.
Meanwhile, district administration has directed the Commander 31 BRTF and Superintending Engineer PWD to exercise their powers under Prevention of Ribbon Development Act and remove encroachments as more than 700 encroachments have been reported on BRO roads involving land worth crores of rupees.
The directions were issued in view of communications received by Revenue Department for removal of encroachments. Administration has accordingly clarified that powers for removal of such encroachments are vested with Commander 31 BRTF under SRO 44 of 2001 dated January 24, 2001, of Public Works Department and same had not been exercised which led to hundreds of encroachments including prime land in towns. Tehsildars have been asked to initiate action on such encroachments and identify delinquent officials.
Similarly, Superintending Engineer PWD has been asked to proceed under provisions of SRO 214 of 2000 dated June 21, 2000, Public Works Department for removal of encroachments. The District Collector has also directed for police investigation in issues of encroachments of BRO roads and failure of officers to contain the encroachments.
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