Gadkari asks civil engineers to strive for quality construction, opt for innovation

Nagpur, Oct 10 (PTI) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday exhorted engineers to do away with the "chal jaata hain" (will suffice) attitude and to strive for quality construction as it is associated with their work ethics.

Addressing the inaugural event of the all-India seminar on Forensic Civil Engineering organised by Institution of Engineers here, he also pitched for pre-casting in road and building construction, adding that once design pattern shapes up then costs will reduce and quality will also improve.

"A lot of development is taking place in the field of engineering, particularly civil engineering. Engineers should ensure no work of theirs is sub standards as it is associated with their work ethics. We need to reduce the cost of production and improve the quality of construction," he said while urging a section of engineers related to government civil works to do away with "chal jaata hain" approach.

Raising concern over the incidents of bridge collapse, the Union minister for road transport and highways underlined the need for research into this aspect in order to come up with preventive measures.

Recalling incidents of this nature in Bihar, Gadkari said audits must take place to find out flaws, and those committing "malafide" mistakes must be sacked.

"There is need for accepting successful practices at world standards by government institutions and private contractors. Marching towards perfection is very important in the development of civil engineering in future. There should be no compromise with quality and new technologies," he asserted.

While asking the Institute of Engineers to give priority for pre-casting in road and building construction, he said, "Once design pattern shapes up then the cost of construction will reduce and quality will also improve. Accidents that keep happening will also not take place." Speaking about innovation, he said in many places the problem of sand procurement is being dealt with by stone crushing.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has approved his request to dredge the rivers and backwaters of the southern state and use the material for road construction, Gadkari pointed out.

It is also beneficial for the environment, he added.

Gadkari cited the example of the Amrit Sarovar Mission, under which more than 1000 water bodies were rejuvenated by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Maharashtra. PTI CLS BNM