Context :
Engineers to face music for potholes on national
highway: Govt ……..
TNN ..30 Sept 2023
Extract :
Government highway engineers will now
be held responsible for failure to make the National Highway
network pothole-free , with the Centre setting the timeline to get NHs rid
of potholes by the year-end
Each
project director must visit all roads at least once in every 15 days and take steps to
fix any maintenance issue
In 2021, potholes caused 3,625 road accidents
claiming 1,481 lives and leaving 3,064 injured. Potholes on highways also
impact the speed of vehicles.
==================================================
My Take :
Ø 2 DOWN : 1 TO GO
!........................... 11 Dec 2015
Extract :
Leaving aside the last question ,
technically , it is not all that difficult to monitor those footpaths , 24
hours of the day
Mumbai Police is installing some
2,000 CCTV cameras all over the city to capture the terrorists
London has 500,000 CCTV cameras to
cover every nook and corner ,24 hours !
So monitoring footpaths of Mumbai ,
by installing 50,000 CCTV cameras, on 24 hour basis, is not a problem
And funds are no problem either ,
with MCGM having spent only 22 % of its Rs 33,000 crore budget so far , in the
current year !
On top of that , it is having fixed
deposits worth Rs 45,000 Crores in banks !
After installing those 50,000 video
cameras , use following software ( embedded in a computerized CCTV network ) to
compute the monthly salary of each ward officer :
Salary Payable / Payroll Salary
=
( Length of footpath in his
ward clear of encroachment * Percentage of time free of encroachment )
divided by
( Total Length of footpath * Total
Hours in that Month )
ie: Ratio of " Clear
Kilometer*Hours / Total Kilometer*Hours "
Then expect a miracle of E-Governance
thru innovative digitization !
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.hemenparekh.ai / 30 Sept 2023
Related Readings :
Algorithm
based Salary ?..................
[ 19 May 2016 ]
Some opinions re the feasibility
of my suggestion :
BARD :
Your
suggestion to automate the process of
holding project engineers responsible for maintenance of National Highways and
keeping them free of potholes by linking their salaries with the number of
potholes on highways for which they are responsible is feasible.
Here is a possible approach:
1.
Install CCTV cameras along all
National Highways.
2.
Use image processing and artificial
intelligence to detect potholes in the CCTV footage.
3.
Track the number of potholes on each
highway over time.
4.
Link the salaries of project engineers to
the number of potholes on the highways for which they are responsible.
To ensure that the system is fair and accurate, it is important to
consider the following factors:
·
The type of highway (e.g., rural vs.
urban, high-traffic vs. low-traffic)
·
The climate and weather conditions in
the region
·
The availability of resources for
maintenance
·
The performance of other project
engineers in similar roles
It is also important to implement a feedback mechanism so that project engineers can raise concerns about the system and
suggest improvements.
Overall, the feasibility of your suggestion depends on the specific
implementation.
However, the general approach of using technology to monitor and hold
project engineers accountable is sound.
Here are some additional thoughts on your suggestion:
·
It would be important to use a transparent and objective algorithm to link the salaries of project
engineers to the number of potholes on the
highways for which they are responsible.
·
It would also be important to provide project engineers with the resources and support they need to
keep highways pothole-free.
·
It would be interesting to see how
this system could be used to improve the maintenance of other types of
infrastructure, such as bridges and roads.
ChatGPT :
Your idea of
linking project engineers' salaries to the maintenance of National Highways,
specifically targeting the reduction of potholes, is an interesting
concept.
However, there are several
considerations and challenges to address:
1. Feasibility:
·
Implementing
such a system would require a significant amount of infrastructure and technology, including CCTV cameras and software
for monitoring and data analysis.
·
The
cost of installing and maintaining these cameras and systems may be
substantial.
2. Accuracy and Accountability:
·
The
accuracy of such a system in counting and identifying potholes would be
crucial. False positives or negatives could
lead to inaccuracies in assessing engineers' performance.
·
Ensuring
that engineers are held accountable for the factors within their control is essential.
External factors like weather
and traffic conditions can
also affect the formation of potholes.
3. Fairness and Incentives:
·
The
incentive structure needs to be carefully designed to ensure that engineers are
motivated to maintain roads
effectively without resorting to
unethical practices like
covering up potholes temporarily.
·
Fair
performance metrics should consider factors beyond just the number of potholes,
such as the quality and durability of road repairs.
4. Data Privacy
and Security:
·
Collecting
and storing video data from thousands of CCTV cameras raises significant
privacy and security concerns. Safeguarding this data would be critical.
5. Administrative Complexity:
·
Managing
and analyzing the data from thousands of cameras and calculating salaries based
on complex algorithms could be administratively challenging.
6. Funding:
·
As
you mentioned, funding is a crucial factor. Governments would need to allocate
sufficient funds to implement and maintain this system.
7. Public
Perception:
·
The
public's perception of this system is also vital. Transparency in how engineers' salaries are
determined and the impact on road quality must be communicated clearly to gain public
trust.
8. Technological
Advances:
·
Advances
in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence and computer vision, may simplify and reduce
the cost of implementing such a system in the future.
In summary, while your idea
has the potential to incentivize better road
maintenance and reduce accidents caused by potholes, it comes with several
challenges related to feasibility, accuracy, fairness, privacy, and funding.
It would require a
thorough feasibility study, careful planning, and continuous monitoring and
adjustment to be successful. Additionally, public and stakeholder support would
be crucial for its implementation.
