Road maintenance units, backed by adequate skilled personnel and instititutional support for upgraded modernized systems, are required to maximize the benefits from completed road projects. Rural road network maintenance units play a crucial role after the existing 5-year performance based maintenance contract is completed. They will have to prepare and implement state-specific road maintenance programs. Further, they will prioritize which roads require periodic maintenance, advise governments, conduct road safety audits at regular intervals, and implement road safety audit recommendations. However, few RRNMUs are not fully functional, because of lukewarm response from department engineers. It would be helpful if state governments consider special incentives to attract engineers. Some states need to further strengthen their capacity to fully utilize the digital monitoring and maintenance platform and road assessment manuals developed by the project.
Second Rural Connectivity Investment Program - Tranche 1