70 Annual Session of IRC

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, APRIL 20104

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 70TH ANNUAL SESSION OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS HELD AT PATNA (BIHAR) FROM

14TH TO 17TH NOVEMBER, 2009

On the invitation of the Government of Bihar, the Indian Roads Congress organized its 70th Annual Session at Patna from 14 to 17 November 2009 with an unprecedented grand success. The Session was inaugurated by Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar on the 14 November 2009. The Inaugural Function was presided over by Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar; Dr. Prem Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar; Shri Nirmaljit Singh, Director General (Road Development) & Spl. Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways; Shri Pratyaya Amrit, Secretary, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar; Shri Ram Dhyan Ram, Engineer-in-Chief cum Addl. Commissioner cum Spl. Secretary, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar; Shri Baban Ram, Local Organizing Secretary 70th Annual Session of IRC, Patna, besides a number of other dignitaries, delegates, invitees and guests graced the Inaugural fucntion.

Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar lighting the

Traditional Inaugural Lamp alongwith other high Dignitaries

A view of the dias during Inauguration

During the Session, important events included presentations and discussions on 8 Papers published in Journal of Indian Roads Congress Volume 70 Parts 1,2 & 3, General Report on Road Research Work Done in India during 2008-2009, Technical Presentations on Highway Planning, Management, Performance Evaluation and Instrumentation, Pavement Engineering and Paving Materials, Panel Discussion on “Use on Non-Conventional Materials in Road Construction”, Expert Talk on “Flexible Concrete Pavement with Different Materials-A Sustainable Solution for Village Roads”, “Public Private Partnership” & “Technology Transfer and Knowledge Sharing” were held during the Session. 61st Meeting of the IRC Highway Research Board, 70th Business Meeting and 189th & 190th Council Meetings were also held. The Government of Bihar had organized a successful and very impressive Technical Exhibition with record participations of 108 Exhibitors during the Session which was inaugurated by Dr. Prem Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Road Construction Department Govt. of Bihar on 13 November 2009. The Session was attended by more than 2177 Highway Engineers from various facets of Roads, Bridges and Road Transport fraternity from all over the country including dignitaries from AASHTO (USA) & France.

Dr. Prem Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar, inaugurating the Technical Exhibition


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 70TH ANNUAL SESSION

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Shri Pratyaya Amrit, Chairman, Steering Committee, 70th Annual Session of IRC & Secretary, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar welcomed the dignitaries, delegates and the invitees who graced the Inaugural Function.

Shri Pratyaya Amrit, Chairman, Steering Committee, 70th Annual Session of IRC & Secretary, Road Construction Department, Govt.

of Bihar delivering Welcome Address

Shri R.P. Indoria, Secretary General, IRC read out the Messages conveying good wishes for the success of the Session received from the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil; Vice-President of India, Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari; Governor of Bihar, Shri Devanand Konwar; Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar; Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Kamal Nath; Union Minister of Urban Development, Shri S. Jaipal Reddy; Union Ministers of State in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Shri Mahadeo Singh Khandela and Shri R.P.N. Singh; Deputy Chief Minister Govt. of Bihar, Shri Sushil

Shri R.P. Indoria, Secretary General, IRC reading out messages received for the success of Annual Session

Kumar Modi; Minister, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar, Dr. Prem Kumar and Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Shri Brahm Dutt.

Shri D.B. Deshpande, President, Indian Roads Congress & Advisor, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (Former Secretary, Maharashtra, PWD) in his Address expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of Bihar for inviting IRC to host the 70th Annual Session at Patna. He mentioned that IRC had the privilege of holding its three Annual Sessions earlier 26th Annual Session in 1961, 41st Annual Session in January 1981 & 53rd Annual Session in December 1992 in Bihar.

President, IRC extended a warm welcome to Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar for having spared his valuable time to inaugurate the Session and Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief

Shri D.B. Deshpande, President, IRC delivering his Presidential Address

Minister of Bihar for presiding over the function. He also extended hearty welcome to Dr. Prem Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, RCD, Govt. of Bihar. He extended a very warm and cordial welcome to all the distinguished Members of the Council, Guests and Invitees and also international professionals who had come to take part in the IRC Session.

Shri Deshpande informed that Indian Roads Congress (IRC) is a premier Institution of highway professionals in the country and provides the forum at national level for sharing knowledge and experience on various issues of road development in the country. Out of many distinguished contributions of the IRC the most important one is the publishing of over 300 Standards



& Specifications, Codes of Practice and Guidelines as well as Special Publications and set of the Highway Research Reports. He said that IRC is instrumental in bringing uniformity in planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of road infrastructure in the country and holds Annual Sessions every year where Technical Papers presented by the professional engineers are discussed. He added that the role and the activities of IRC have increased manifold in the recent past with the globalisation and emphasis on Private Sector Participation in road development.

Speaking on the occasion he mentioned that last one-year achievements of IRC are noteworthy having brought out may publications: (i) IRC:12-2009 “Guidelines for Access, Location and Layout of Roadside Fuel Stations and Service Station (Third Revision)” (ii) IRC:27-2009 “Specifications for Bituminous Macadam (First Revision)” and (iii) IRC:111-2009 “Specifications for Dense Graded Bituminous Mixes” have been published and were released at the Council Meeting held at Kodaikanal in June 2009. IRC:SP:84-2009 “Manual of Specifications & Standards for Four-Laning of Highways through Public Private Partnership” has already been printed and is in circulation for use by the professionals after approval at Kodaikanal Council Meeting in June 2009. Another set of noteworthy publications namely IRC:SP:21-2009 “Guidelines on Landscaping and Tree Plantation (First Revision)” and IRC:SP:30-2009 “Manual on Economic Evaluation of Highway Projects in India (First Revision) have been published and are slated to be released in this function. All efforts have been made to bring quality of printing of IRC publications to the international standards. He said that concerted effort is being made to make IRC Secretariat computer savvy, the result of which will be seen in the near future. A Seminar on Public Private Partnership in Highway Sector was held in New Delhi in August 2009 which received overwhelming response. A number of workshops were also held during this year at Bhopal, Chandigarh, Shillong & New Delhi. At present, there are 154 Associate Members, 96 Individual Associate Members, 3041 Members, 24 Student Members and 9345 Life Members of IRC. The membership has also gone up by 515 during this year. I am confident that IRC will continue to play a leading role in road development activities.

He also stressed on Engineering Education. There was sudden growth of Engineering Colleges in the past two decades. It had raised alarm on quality of education. The exceptions are IITs and the like Institutes. The objective of the Colleges and Institutions should be to make quality engineers available. The review of engineering education is overdue. The curriculum needs to be redrafted so that it will become more useful in practice. There is wide gap between teaching and practice. New subjects like financial analysis and legal issues need to be introduced. The system of practicing professionals visiting Colleges as visiting lecturers needs to be started and at the same time teachers in Engineering Colleges should be deputed for a year or so, in the field for on hand experience. Thus, there needs to be a continuous interaction between Engineering Institutions and Construction Industry so that education given in Colleges is in tune with the field requirements. He expected that IRC will open up the dialogue in this respect with appropriate authorities.

Shri Deshpande emphasized on Construction Industry that the present and the future programmes and stiff targets of highway development have forced the highway construction industry to change its mind set and embrace professional management and adopt excellence in Corporate governance. The capacity augmentation of the construction industry in all areas has become absolutely necessary. In order to be successful, the work culture needs to be changed and the construction industry needs to imbibe strong ethical standards, enhance human resources, adopt corporate social responsibilities and set an example of corporate leadership with high quality output and International Safety Standards. The construction industry should also exhibit environmental concern. The quarries and the construction sites are required to be converted into artificial lakes or eco-friendly areas so as to add value to the Highway Sector. The construction industry needs to train all the personnel right from the Labourers to the Managers. Very high level of awareness is required to be created amongst the workers with continuous in-house training with an objective that no supervision or very less supervision at site will be necessary.

On Institutional strengthening, he said that the PWDs. of all the State Govts. were in-charge of all activities of Road Development in the past. Now the consultants are



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entrusted as a matter of routine all types of works of Road Development including survey, investigation, planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation etc. This had reverse effect on the technical manpower of the PWDs and the engineers are now losing technical edge and expertise for which they were known and were proud. In the past, the Executive Engineer used to be technical advisor for the District Administration. At present, they are doing mostly the managerial jobs. In order to get “value for money” for the Govt. Organisations and also to protect the interest of the road users at large, it is of paramount importance that the PWD engineers are technically very sound and they always keep abreast with the international developments. This will ensure that whatever products are delivered by the consultants and contractors or other agencies are upto the desired standards. He recommended that the Union Govt. and the State Govts. may constitute a Core Group of Secretaries to look into these issues. The objective shall be to strengthen the Engineering Organisations without adding any cost to establishment. One of the options may be that the engineers in the public sector are given the option to go and work for the private sector for some time during their career.

Shri Deshpande while speaking on Safety & Security Standards said that the standard of safety on construction sites should be very high. The objective should be zero accident. Utmost precaution needs to be taken in a scientific way for safe passage of traffic during construction. The management of activities at site requires due diligence. The safety measures during operation and maintenance of PPP projects need also to be monitored continuously. It may be advisable to consider a separate authority like Safety Commissioner for supervision and enforcement of safety standards on constructions on a continuous basis in view of the volume and expanse of highway construction activities in our country.

Speaking on Road Land Bank, the President, IRC said that the total road length in India including all categories of road is about 33 lakhs km. The land within the right of way on either side of carriage-way is vulnerable for encroachment. It is necessary to think as to how this

land can be best utilised so that there is no encroachment and it will also generate income. A strip of land of 5 m on either side near road boundary can be considered for giving on lease for growing of Bamboo plantation or otherwise. The plantation and cutting can be done in a planned manner. This will ensure that the land bank is utilised for dual purpose of protecting the right of way from encroachment and generating some revenue. The extent of such land bank available will be about 33 lakh hectare across the country considering the entire road length.

On Rural Roads he said that the Govt. of India has taken up-gradation of rural roads on a large scale. A positive impact is now seen in the areas where these roads are completed. A critical review at this stage will be helpful to assess the technical performance and to explore possibility of introducing latest state of art materials and methods. An attempt may also be made to reduce the cost per km with the vast data now available. The maintenance of these assets will pose problem once the initial period of maintenance is over. The different instruments or modalities will be necessary for maintaining service level of these roads on sustainable basis. I will like to invite attention of the State Govts. to this issue.

On PPP he mentioned that there is a wide gap between the funds currently made available for road development as well as maintenance and actual requirement. The allocations do not meet increased demand for better roads. It is, therefore, necessary that additional resources are mobilised by private investment in road development. The Govt. of India and many States have taken initiative and started many projects of four-laning of National Highways & State Highways. Many a PPP projects are already completed. The viability Gap funding or the equity, support which is given to make project financially viable has also encouraged private sector for investment. There are many issues, which need to be looked into vigilantly on PPP projects. The two most important points, which need immediate attention are, the maintenance of desired level of service during entire concession period and the durability of the structures beyond the Concession Period. In addition to



this, the Toll Plazas need to be minimum and an uniform tolling policy across the country needs to be adopted to make the travel user-friendly and hassle free. The public participation through public hearings at the inception stage of the future projects will be essential in order to get the continuous support for payment of toll.

Stressing the importance of maintenance, Shri Deshpande said that the total road length in our country is about 33 lakhs km. The effort to upgrade the road network right from the Village Roads to the National Highways by Union Govt. and State Govts., has positive impact on development of all sectors in our country. However, at the same time the maintenance of existing road network, cannot be ignored. In the similar way, large packages for maintenance are required to be taken up and monitored at Govt. of India and State Govt. level. Possibility of clubbing cluster of these roads with a main heavy density corridor under PPP can also be explored. I would like to conclude by recommending that the Union Govt. and State Governments may appoint a Commission or High Power Committee to look into these issues. This will help to accelerate road development activity and also help to create change in work culture. I am sure that with the dedicated efforts of all, the Indian roads will reach the international standards and in future India will be known for its roads.

Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Dr. Prem Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar, have also addressed during the Inaugural Function.

Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, delivering his Address during Inaugural function

Dr. Prem Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar, delivering his Address during

Inaugural function

Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar inaugurated the 70th Annual Session.

Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, delivering his Inaugural Address

In his Inaugural Address, Shri Nitish Kumar welcomed all the dignitaries and delegates to the historic city of Patliputra, the modern Patna. In his illuminating speech he requested the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to grant more funds for the development of road infrastructure in Bihar. He has also stressed that the delegates to come out with innovative technologies so as to construct durable roads in a cost effective way.

Presiding over the Inaugural Function of 70th Annual Session, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar,



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Shri Sushil Kumar Modi welcomed all the dignitaries and delegates to the city of Patna and wished to have enjoyable and meaningful stay in Patna.

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, thereafter, released IRC:SP:21-2009 “Guidelines on Landscaping & Tree Plantation” & IRC:SP:30-2009 “Manual on Economic Evaluation of Highway Projects in India”. He also felicitated the Authors of the Papers by distributing the following Awards and Medals:

a) IRC Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award for the year 2009 (Conferred for an outstanding contribution in the field of Highway Engineering) Awarded to Dr. S. Velmurugan.

IRC:SP:21-2009 is being released by Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar

IRC:SP:30-2009 is being released by Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar

b) Indian Roads Congress Medal (for the Best Paper discussed at the Annual Session): Awarded to Dr. S.

Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, presenting the IRC medals to the awardees

Gangopadhyay and Co-author Dr. (Mrs.) Purnima Parida for their Paper No.539 - “Estimation of Fuel Loss during Idling of Vehicles at Signalised Intersections in Delhi” printed in IRC Journal Volume 69 Part 1.

Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, presening the IRC medals to the awardees

(c) Medal Instituted by Bihar PWD (for Outstanding Paper on Road Research): Awarded to Dr. V. Thamizh Arasan and Shriniwas S. Arkatkar for their Paper entitled “Enhancing the Accuracy of Estimation of Passenger Car Unit for Vehicles of Heterogeneous Traffic” printed in Highway Research Journal Vol No. 2 No.1 and Awarded to Dr. B.B. Pandey for his Paper “Improved Design of Flexible Pavements” printed in Highway Research Journal Vol No. 2 No.2.



(d) Commendation Certificates (for the Papers of average merit)

(i) Awarded to Shri Manik Barman and Dr. B.B. Pandey for their Paper No.545 “Backcalculation of Layer Moduli of Concrete Pavement by Falling Weight Deflectometer”, printed in IRC Journal Volume 69 Part 3.

(ii) Awarded to Dr. Sunil Bose, S/Shri S. Satya Kumar, R. Sridhar & Dr. K.S. Reddy for their Paper No. 540 “Analytical Investigation on the Influence of Loading and Temperature on Top-Down Cracking in Bituminous Layers”, printed in IRC Journal Volume 69 Part 1.

Shri B.L. Ajitsaria, Vice President, IRC proposed the Vote-of-Thanks to the Hon’ble Ministers and all other dignitaries for their gracious presence at the Inaugural Function. He expressed gratitude to the Govt. of Bihar for inviting IRC for holding its 70th Annual Session at Patna.

On the 14 November 2009, 61st Meeting of Highway Research Board was held. Highway Research Board discussed in detail the management of research studies and reporting of research findings. It was the general opinion of members that quality of research work being done needs improvement in order to make research more focused and implementable on the field. Research findings were not being adequately reported for the benefit of those who want to use them. To achieve this, it was suggested that the findings of research schemes may be uploaded on Websites of MORTH, NHAI & IRC.

A view of the dais during Highway Research Board Meeting

The members suggested that Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers from Government departments and Civil Engineers from private organizations working in the field may be encouraged to write papers based on their experience. The members also gave suggestions for improving the technical content of the papers being published in IRC Journals and other publications.

Secretary General, IRC informed that IRC had organized Regional Workshops on “Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Road and Bridge Projects” for Northern, Eastern and Central regions of the country to disseminate knowledge and to increase awareness of Civil Engineers on Quality Control aspects.

Secretary General, IRC also informed that the Committee for Accreditation of New Materials and Techniques had accredited 27 new materials/techniques for being used on trial basis.

President, IRC appealed to all the members to give effective suggestions for practical implementation on the field which would be helpful in putting the Road Research in our country back on track.

Towards the end of meeting, Presentations on “Strategic Plan for Road Research in India” by Prof. A. Veeraragavan, IIT, Madras; “APTF Research Programme” by Dr. Sunil Bose, CRRI and “Research Needs in Traffic Engineering” by Dr. M. Parida, IIT Roorkee were made, which were well taken by the members.

The Council in its 189th meeting held on the 14 November, 2009 transacted the administrative, financial and general business of the IRC. After detailed discussions, the Council approved the following seven draft documents and three amendments of HSS, BSS & GSS Committees:

1. “Guidelines for Variable Message Signs”.

2. “Road Safety Audit Manual”.

3. Revision of IRC:67-2001 “Code of Practice for Road Signs”.

4. Revision of IRC:24-2001 “Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges, Steel Road Bridges (Limit State Method).



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5. Amendment to IRC:SP:65-2005 “Guidelines for Design and Construction of Segmental Bridges”.

6. Revision of IRC:6-2000 “Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges, Section-II – Loads and Stresses”.

7. Amendment to IRC:SP:80-2008 “Guidelines for Corrosion Prevention, Monitoring and Remedial Measures for Concrete Bridge Structures (Table 6.6)”.

8. Amendments in the values of material properties of Steel in IRC:6-2000, IRC:18-2000, IRC:21-2000, IRC:22-2008, IRC:24-2001 and draft IRC:24 (LSM).

9. “Guidelines for Selection, Operation and Maintenance of Paver Finisher”.

10. “Guidelines on Requirements for Environmental Clearances for Road Projects”.

As IRC and AASHTO (USA) share a number of common aims and in order to collaborate on the pursuit of these commain aims through exchange of information, consultation and cooperation, an MoU betwen AASHTO & IRC was signed by Mr. John Horseley, Executive Director, AASHTO and Shri R.P. Indoria, Secretary General, IRC during 189th Council Meeting.

In the Technical Sessions ten Papers were published in the IRC Journal Volume 70 Parts 1, 2 & 3 out of which

eight Papers were presented by the respective Authors, which evoked lively discussion from the participants:

1. Paper No.548 “Fatigue Behaviour of Polymer Modified Bituminous Concrete Mixtures” by Ms. Shivangi Gupta & Prof. A. Veeraragavan.

2. Paper No.549 “Modelling Congestion on Urban Roads Using Speed . Profile Data” by Shri M.V.L.R. Anjaneyulu & Dr. B.N. Nagaraj.

3. Paper No.551 “Determination of Waterway Under A Bridge in Himalayan Region – Some Case Studies” by Prof. S.K. Mazumder (presented by Shri S. Mukherjee).

4. Paper No.552 “Determination of Congestion Cost in Central Business District of New Delhi – A Case Study” by Ms. Aditi Singh & Dr. P.K. Sarkar.

A view of the dais during discussion on Papers No. 549, 550 & 552

A view of the dais during 189th Council Meeting MoU beetwen AASHTO & IRC is being signed by Mr. John Horseley, Executive Director, AASHTO (Right) and Shri R.P.

Indoria, Secretary General, IRC (Left) during 189th Council Meeting



A view of the dais during discussion on Papers No.548 & 553

A view of the dais during discussion on Papers No.551 & 556

5. Paper No.553 “Bio-Enzyme Stabilized Lateritic Soil as a Highway Material” by Prof. A.U. Ravi Shankar, Shri Harsha Kumar Rai & Shri I. Ramesha Mithanthaya.

6. Paper No.555 “RCC Box Culverts - Methodology and Designs Including Computer Method” by Shri B.N. Sinha & Shri R.P. Sharma.

7. Paper No.556 “Investigations on Unsoaked Blended Laterite Using PFWD, PBT, DCP and CBR Tests” by Dr. Varghese George, Ch. Nageshwar Rao & Shri R. Shivashankar.

8. Paper No.557 “Road Transport Demand Forecast for 2000 AD Revisited and Demand Forecast for 2021” by Dr. L.R. Kadiyali & Ms. T.V. Shashikala.

A view of the dais during Expert Talk

A view of the dais during Technical Presentation

Expert Talk on following topics were held:

1. “Flexible Concrete Pavement with Different Materials- A Sustainable Solution for Village Roads“ by Dr. B.B. Pandey.

2. “Public Private Partnership” by Shri Mathieu Muzumdar.

3. ‘Technology Transfer and Knowledge Sharing” by Mr. Chris Francis.

In order to keep abreast with the latest technical developments, following Technical Presentations were made through Powerpoint which were well received by the audience, as being very informative and educative:

1. “Working Faster and Smarter with MXROAD Suit” by Shri Jugal Makwana, M/s Bentley System India (P) Ltd.



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Shri Jugal Makwana, M/s. Bentley System India (P) Ltd. making Technical Presentation

2. “Shell Thiopave – An Emerging Technology” by Mr. David Strickland, M/s. Shell India Markets Pvt. Ltd.

3. “Improving Road Safety through Standardized Signage and Road Marking Systems” by Shri Vishal Kedia, M/s. 3M India Ltd.

4. “EQR and CRS TMT Re-Bar” by Shri T.K. Paul, M/s. Shyam Steel Industries Ltd.

5. “Technical Innovations in 30 Years Old Stagnate Technology-The Smart Joint” by Mr. Del Stephen Brown, M/s. METCO.

6. ‘Second Vivekananda Bridge Project on NH-2 Near Kolkata” by Dr. B.C. Roy, M/s. Second Vivekananda Bridge Tollway Company Pvt. Ltd.

7. “Design and Construction of Stabilized Base and Sub-Base with RBI Grade 81” by Shri Satander

Kumar, M/s. Legend Surface Developers Pvt. Ltd.

8. “First SMA (Stone Matrix Asphalt) Stretch in India Experiences in Palanpur-Deesa Section of NH-14 State Gujarat-India” by Mr. Bernd Abele, M/s. J Rettenmaier & Sohne.

9. “21st Century Thinking in Reinforced Concrete Structures: Stainless Steel Rebar” by Mr. John M Duffy, M/s. Outokumpu India Pvt. Ltd.

10. “First Use of Disc Bearings in India for Bandra Worli Sea Link Project” by Shri Santanu Adhikary, M/s. Mageba Bridge Products Pvt. Ltd.

11. “Polymer Modified Bitumens, 30 years of Experience” by Mr. Jean Pascal Planche, M/s. Total Vinergy Bitumen India Pvt. Ltd.

12. “Role of Synthetic Fibres in CC Roads” by Shri Rajiv Gauri M/s. Reliance.

13. “Trinidad Lake Asphalt and Application to Indian Highway Industry (Technical Presentation with some Economic Information)” by Mr. Deonariane Sarabjit, M/s. Pavetech Consultants.

14. “Bitumen Stabilized Material and Soil Stabilisation” by Shri Sanjay Bajaj, M/s. Wirtgen India Pvt. Ltd.

15. “Fiberglass Engineered Paving Mat-Mitigating Reflective Cracking and Providing a Moisture Barrier in Hot Mix Asphalt Overlayes” by Mr. Mike Samueloff, M/s. Owens Corning India Ltd.

16. “PR Plast S/PR Plast Module” by Mr. Anud Bourbon, M/s. Allianz Impex Marketing (I) Pvt. Ltd.

17. “Cold Mix Methodology as an Alternative to Hotmix in Rural Road Construction of Eastern India” by Shri B.N. Mazumder, M/s. Bitchem

18. “Double Wall Corrugated (DWC) HDPE Piping System for Non-Pressure (Gravity Flow) Underground Sewerage/Drainage/Cross Drainage (Culvert) Applications Related to Indian Roads” by Shri T.K. Chattopadhyay, M/s. Alom Poly Extrusions Ltd.

19. “Micro Seal Surfacing” by Shri S.K. Mehta, M/s. Mehta Construction Group.

A view of the dais during Technical Presentation



A Panel Discussion was held on “Use of Non-Conventional Materials in Road Construction”. The Panel Discussion Session was chaired by Shri Nirmaljit Singh, Director General (Road Development) & Spl. Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The Panelists were Shri G. Sharan, Former Director General (Road Development) & Spl. Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Shri D.P. Gupta, Former Director General (Road Development), MOST, Prof. B.P. Chandrasekhar, Director (Tech.) NRRDA, Shri A.K. Banerjee, Former Member (Technical), NHAI, Shri A.D. Narain, Former Director General & Addl. Secretary, MOST, Shri N.K. Sinha, Former Director General (Road Development) & Spl. Secretary, MOST, Shri C.R. Alimchandani, Managing Director, Stup Consultants, Shri C.C. Bhattacharya, Former Director General (Road Development), MOST, Shri P.L. Bongirwar, Dr. U.K. Guru Vittal, Scientist, CRRI and Col. M.S. Deol.

A view of the dais during Panel discussion on “Use of Non-Conventional Materials in Road Construction”

The 70th Annual General Body meeting of the Indian Roads Congress was held on 16 November, 2009 during which the following Council Members were elected:

Rule 9-k (i) Six representatives of Associate Members (from Private Sector):

1. Shri Sanjay Dalmia Jalnidhi Bitumen Specialities Pvt. Ltd

2. Shri Sudhir Uppal Opal Paints Pvt. Ltd.

3. Col. (Retd.) V.K. Ganju Feed Back Venutres

4. Shri Swatantra Kumar AIMIL Ltd.

5. Shri Amarjit Singh AJS Scale Pvt. Ltd.

6. Shri Pratap S. Raizada Gammon India Ltd.

Rule 9-k (ii) Three representatives of Associate Members (from Public Sector):

1. Shri Alok Kumar BRPNN Ltd., (Patna)

2. Shri J.B. Shrivastava BSRDC Ltd., Patna

3. Shri V. Krishnamurthy RITES (Gurgaon)

Rule 9–l One representative of Institutions primarily engaged in Roads and Road Transport Research who are Associate Members (from Public Sector/Private Sector):

Dr. M.C. Jain Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., R&D Centre Haryana

Rule 9-m One representative of Engineering Universities/ I.I.Ts/Engineering Colleges/Training Institutes who are Associate Members:

Dr. Manoranjan Parida IIT, Roorkee

Rule 9-n One representative from Zilla Parishads, District Boards, Panchayat Samitis, Panchayati Raj Departments, Rural Development Department, Rural Works Department and Rural Engineering Organisations:

Shri H.T. Ray Jharkhand

Rule 9-o One representative from Members from Municipalities, Improvement Trusts, Development Authorities and Cantonment Engineers:

Shri S.K. Mandal KMC,(Kolkata)

Rule 9-q One representative from the Mechanical Engineers:

Shri R.K. Saxena Uttar Pradesh

Rule 9-s Two representatives from Lady Members:

1. Miss Shobha Khanna Madhya Pradesh

2. Dr. Purnima Parida Delhi

Rule 9-p(i) The following ten members were elected as Members of the Council by the General Body:

1. Shri R.P. Mandal Bihar

2. Shri B.B. Rampal Chandigarh



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3. Shri Jaswant Singh Himachal Pradesh

4. Shri S.R.K. Singh Jharkhand

5. Shri M. Nagaraj Karnataka

6. Shri T.K. Georgekutty Kerala

7. Shri C.L. Verma Rajasthan

8. Shri Chinmay Debnath Tripura

9. Shri R.P. Sharma Uttar Pradesh

10. Shri Sankar Roy Choudhury West Bengal

Rule 9-p(ii) Two representatives below 35 years of age:

1. Shri V. V. Thakar Maharashtra

2. Shri Gokul Agarwal West Bengal

As per the tradition, IRC honour its oldest members during Annual General Body Meeting who are present. Accordingly, Shri G.P. Lal (Roll No.1962) from the host State, Bihar and Shri N.G. Vakharia (Roll No.2922) from rest of country were honoured with the presentation of a bouquet and shawl by Shri D.B. Deshpande, President IRC during 70th Business Meeting.

Shri G.P. Lal, the Senior most member of the IRC being honoured by Shri D.B. Deshpande, President, IRC, Extreme right is Shri R.P.

Indoria, Secretary General, IRC

Shri N.G. Vakharia, the Senior most member of the IRC being honoured by Shri D.B. Deshpande, President, IRC

Shri R.P. Indoria, Secretary General, IRC read out the Resolution of Thanks at the end of the Business Meeting which was approved by acclaim.

The General Report on Road Research Work done during the year 2008-2009 in the country, compiled and printed as Highway Research Record No.36, was discussed under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Gangopadhyay, Director, CRRI. Heads of the various Departments of CRRI presented the Report as under:

Chapter:1 Highway Planning, Design, Management, Performance Evaluation & Instrumentation’ by Dr. B.K. Durai

Chapter: 2 ‘Pavement Engineering & Paving Materials’ by Dr. S.D. Sharma

Chapter:3 ‘Geotechnical Engineering’ by Dr. U.K. Guruvittal

Chapter: 4 ‘Bridge Engineering’ by Dr. P. Lakshmi

Chapter: 5 ‘Traffic & Transportation’ by Dr. P. Parida

The following Presentations were made during this Session:

‘Development of Cold Mix Technology for Bituminous Pavement Construction’ by Dr. N.K.S. Pundhir

‘Experiences of Road Safety Audit Projects’ by Prof. P.K Sarkar

Presentation by Dr. S. Velmurugan, Awardee of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award 2009

The 190th Council Meeting of the IRC was held on the 17 November 2009 during the 70th Annual Session of the IRC wherein the following Office Bearers of the Indian Roads Congress for the next term were elected:

Shri Liansanga President, IRC

Shri Anand Selot Vice-President, IRC

Shri M.B. Bhalala Vice-President, IRC

Shri Ram Dhyan Ram Vice-President, IRC

Shri S.K. Dalmia Vice-President, IRC

The meeting of Secretaries, Engineers-in-Chief and Chief Engineers from Central and State Government Departments was also held on the 15 November 2009.



A view of the dais during 190th Council Meeting

Chief Engineers’ Meeting in progress

under the Chairmanship of Shri Nirmaljit Singh, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary, MORT&H and attended by Shri A.V. Sinha, ADG and Chief Engineers, MORT&H, namely, Shri S.N. Das, Shri C. Kandasamy, Shri Ashok Kumar, Shri A.N. Dhodapkar and Shri Prabhakar, Deputy Secretary

(P&B), Secretaries/Es-in-C/Chief Engineers of various State/UT Govt. and NHAI, BRO, NITHE, CRRI, etc. Important issues deliberated in the meeting were as under:

1. Safety audit of NH sections and identification of accident black spots.

2. Identification of 15,000 km of NH stretches for development to 2-lane NH standards with paved shoulders under NHDP-Phase-IV and development of Single Lane/Intermediate Lane NHs to 2-lane standards, which are not covered under any approved prgrammes.

3. Use of new materials, specifications and technologies for NH works and Recycling of Pavement materials.

4. Development of Wayside Amenities along NHs.

5. Installation of Route sings along Asian Highway Network in the country.

6. Rationalization of numbering system of NHs.

7. Adoption of Corridor Approach for development of NHs by State PWDs.

During the Session, the delegates visited the Technical Exhibition, which was very impressively organized by Bihar PWD in a spacious & decorated environment. Latest products, services equipments and machinery pertaining to Highway design, construction and maintenance were exhibited there. 108 companies participated in the exhibition.

The Cultural Programme Committee of the 70th Annual Session, organized variety of cultural programmes for entertainment of the delegates and their families who rejoiced the evenings after the day’s long hectic technical activities spread over different Sessions.

Documents

70 Annual Session of IRC