Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today presided over the North Zone Inter-State Interactive Session on ‘Quality Assurance in Public Works Departments’, attended by senior officers and engineers from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan states.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the state government had initiated wide-ranging reforms in the Public Works Department (PWD) to equip it to effectively meet future challenges. He said that Himachal Pradesh has witnessed several natural disasters over the past three years, where the role of the PWD had been highly commendable.
He said that the impacts of climate change and natural disasters were already visible in Himachal Pradesh and were likely to affect other states in the future as well. He said that nearly 90 percent of the state’s geographical area was mountainous, making road connectivity a basic necessity.
He emphasized that the Public Works department must now move towards advanced infrastructure development, including tunnel construction and high-rise buildings. While adopting new technologies and work practices may present challenges, these must be overcome to ensure sustainable development, he added.
Sh. Sukhu said that the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by disasters would be one of the biggest challenges in the years ahead. At present, around four percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was spent on disaster reconstruction, a figure that could rise to 14 percent by 2050.
In this context, he stressed the need for embracing modern technologies and expanding the department’s capabilities. He further said that the PWD should consider expanding its traditional mandate and explore opportunities in emerging sectors.
In particular, he suggested that the department could play a greater role in areas such as dam construction. He indicated that the government would consider broadening the department’s mandate in the future.
The Chief Minister also released the book titled 'Quality Control for Road Works on this occasion. Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said that capacity building and the adoption of modern technologies were the need of the hour.
He said that such interactive sessions provide engineers with valuable exposure to innovative technologies and best practices. Referring to the challenges posed by global warming, he stressed the need for developing new approaches and innovative solutions across Northern India. He said that sustainable development had become an essential priority in the present times.
The PWD Minister said that Himachal Pradesh had a road network of approximately 45,000 kilometres and that most Panchayats in the state were now connected by roads. Maintaining and preserving this vast infrastructure in a sustainable manner remains a major challenge.
To address this, the state government had formulated a new drainage policy aimed at improving the maintenance and longevity of roads, he added. He said that the prevailing situation in the Middle East had led to an increase in the cost of construction materials, placing additional pressure on development projects and addressing these emerging challenges remains a key priority of the government.
Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, MLA Vivek Sharma, Special Secretary, GAD Harbans Singh Brascon, Engineer-in-Chief, PWD S.P. Jagota along with other senior engineers and officials from various northern states attended the meeting.