Three Decades of Geosynthetics in India

With the recent emphasis on infrastructure development, geosynthetics in India have received a tremendous boost. Apart from the consistent use in pavements of the east-west and north-south corridors and golden quadrilateral of the NHDP projects being executed by the NHAI, reinforced soil walls in urban flyover approaches have become common, due to their distinct advantages over conventional reinforced concrete walls. These apart, the use of high strength geotextiles and geocell mattresses for foundation of high embankments on soft soils has also proven to be feasible even in black cotton soil areas. Increasing emphasis is being given to the development and use of natural fibre (particularly, jute and coir) geotextiles for civil engineering applications. The paper traces many of these developments and summarizes the key issues to be taken note of for utilizing the vast potential geosynthetics offer, in India's march to development.