Coir Geo textiles, a permeable fabric, natural, strong, highly durable, resistant to rots, moulds and moisture, free from any microbial attack, has finally been accepted as a good material for rural road construction.

A communication from the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency under Ministry of Rural Development, said, Coir Geo textiles will be used for construction of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, PMGSY-III.

Speaking about the development, Minister for MSME, Nitin Gadkari, who has been behind the move to explore alternative usage of coir fibre, said, it is a very significant development as we have now been successful in deploying coir geo textile in road construction. He said, the decision will give a big boost to the coir industry especially in these difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the PMGSY new technology guidelines for road construction, 15 per cent length in each batch of proposals, is to be constructed using new technologies. Out of this 5 per cent roads are to be constructed using IRC accredited technology. The IRC has now accredited coir Geo textiles for construction of rural roads.

As per these instructions, 5 per cent length of the rural roads under PMGSY-III will be constructed using Coir Geo textiles.  Accordingly 164 kilometers of road will be constructed using coir geo textiles in Andhra Pradesh, 151 kilometers in Gujarat, 71 kilometers in Kerala , 328 kilometers in Maharashtra, 470 kilometers in Odisha, 369 kilometers in Tamil Nadu and 121 kilometers in Telengana. One thousand 6 hundred 74 kilometers road will be constructed using Coir Geo textiles in seven states for which there will be a requirement of One Crore Square meters of coir Geo-textiles, estimated cost of which would come to 70 Crore rupees.

The decision opens up a huge market potential for Coir Geo-textiles in the Country and will be a boon to the Covid-19 hit Coir Industry.