Delhi-NCT PWD issues new mandates for road maintenance

All PWD zones have been directed to start road repair work and report roads needing major strengthening and re-carpeting

The Public Works Department (PWD) has issued new guidelines for road maintenance, making it mandatory to maintain a road history register, a chain of command, and chainage (measurement used for surveying of road) details at every 50 meters along all its roads. The move aims to ensure transparency and facilitate better tracking of road repair projects, officials aware of the matter said.

An official added that the road history register will record all expenditures, including repair details and costs, streamlining future payments (HT Archive)

A PWD order emphasised the importance of maintaining chainage for accurate expenditure tracking. “In order to keep the proper record of expenditure on road works, it is hereby directed that chainage must be marked on each and every road under PWD GNCTD (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), and its sanctity must be strictly maintained. All estimates should be prepared based on detailed measurements according to chainage, works will be executed, and measurements will be taken in accordance with the chainage,” the order stated.

An official added that the road history register will record all expenditures, including repair details and costs, streamlining future payments. “It was found that some roads were repaired years ago, but no records of past work existed. The new SOPs aim to fix this,” the official said.

According to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), chainages will be marked at 50-meter intervals with white and black paint on kerbstones. “The chainage should be re-marked quarterly so that it is visible at all times. GPS locations of chainages will also be recorded,” the SOPs state.

Additionally, if roads are shared between divisions, sub-division details must also be marked. All PWD zones have been directed to start road repair work and report roads needing major strengthening and recarpeting. Further investigations and implementations are underway.