Authority works — RMC
RMC Rajkot GPR Survey Over Shallow Basalt
Basalt a short way down crowds Rajkot's pipes and cables into a thin soil layer; we map that layer for Rajkot Municipal Corporation roads, pipelines and growth areas.
Quick AnswerAn RMC Rajkot GPR survey tells you which PGVCL cables, corporation water and drainage pipes and operator ducts are in the way before a trench is cut. It serves the 150 Ft Ring Road and the new growth areas alike. Saurashtra basalt lies near the surface, so Rajkot's services sit high in the soil, and one careless cut can catch three at once. Area-wide records for the greenfield zone are covered by our page on smart city underground mapping.
What does an RMC Rajkot utility survey look for?
Anything buried in Rajkot's shallow layer that your trench, bore or widening may meet, from mains and sewers to PGVCL cables, gas pipes and fibre ducts. Whatever ground penetrating radar (GPR) or the locator picks up is plotted with its path, approximate cover and probable owner. The same line is painted on the carriageway for the excavator operator.
Rajkot Municipal Corporation was formed on 19 November 1973. It runs the city through three zones, Central, East and West, with 18 wards and 72 corporators. RMC handles roads, drainage and water supply, Paschim Gujarat Vij Company (PGVCL) owns the power cables, and gas and fibre sit with separate companies. The zone and nearest chowk are enough to start planning.
Typical jobs are junction upgrades, replacement of ageing water and drainage pipes, new services in edge growth areas, and private runs for the engineering units around the city.
Why are Rajkot's services so shallow?
Hard basalt, the dark volcanic rock of Saurashtra, often sits a short way under the soil, and trenching into it is slow and costly. Contractors have therefore laid pipes and cables in the soft layer above the rock. A water main, a cable and a duct may lie within a hand's width of each other.
Being a geophysical method, GPR images the subsurface by timing the reflected signals of electromagnetic waves sent into the rock and soil. Dry basalt passes those waves well, and the boundary between soil and rock stands out. Joints and fractures in the rock, however, return echoes that can look like buried objects. Doubtful targets get a second scan direction, a locator check and, where it matters, a trial pit. For Rajkot ground conditions in more depth, read about GPR survey in Rajkot.
Where is Rajkot growing, and what does that mean underground?
New services are spreading along the ring road and into planned greenfield areas, while the old core needs its ageing lines replaced. Three examples show the range.
- The BRTS Blue corridor, opened on 1 October 2012, runs about 10.5 km along the 150 Ft Ring Road from Madhapar Chowk to Gondal Chowk.
- The smart-city plan includes a greenfield area of about 930 acres, with the Atal Sarovar lake rejuvenation at its centre.
- AIIMS Rajkot and the new international airport at Hirasar, where commercial flights moved in September 2023, are drawing roads, water lines and cables outward.
In new areas the risk is fresh lines that never reach a drawing. Utility maps made soon after services go in save trouble for every contractor who follows.
How do we pick out each type of line?
Each line type gets its own tool, and the critical ones are checked in the ground.
| Service | Why it is tricky over basalt | Our check |
|---|---|---|
| Ductile iron or steel water main | Shares the thin soil with other lines | Locator follows it; radar passes cross it |
| Plastic water or gas pipe | Faint on radar and invisible to a locator | Tight radar grid, hand pit at key crossings |
| Sewer and storm drain | Lower down, at times chiselled into the rock | Manholes opened and inverts taped |
| PGVCL cables | Near the surface and often beside a water pipe | Passive locator, then applied signal |
| Joints and loose boulders | Reflections that pass for pipes | Rescan at right angles, check against records |
Table note: for a fuller comparison of these methods and their limits, see our article on this.
Plastic pipes are the hardest target in any city. Our approach to them is set out in underground pipeline detection details.
Why not trust the old drawings?
In a shallow, crowded zone, a small error in an old drawing is enough to cause a strike. Records were drawn by hand, updated unevenly and rarely corrected after repairs. A line shown a metre off is a nuisance on an open road but a hazard where four services share one strip of soil above the rock.
Old RMC sheets point us to stretches needing extra passes; nothing reaches our sheet unproved, and each line names the instrument behind it. Where the GPR data and the record disagree, the drawing shows both with a note, so the designer sees the conflict. Mapping a full ward or estate is a different job, described in what we do: utility mapping.
What does the survey cost?
₹24 per metre for a standard GPR scan and ₹32 per metre with an L-section, subject to a ₹1,00,000 minimum for each Rajkot project. If the job carries a mobilisation or travel charge, the written quotation names that sum. On long programmes the discount applies to the whole order: 25% above 100 km, 40% above 500 km, 50% above 1,000 km. GST is added at the end.
Scanning 3.5 km of service strip beside the ring road as an L-section totals ₹1,12,000, GST not included. Once the programme is agreed, our engineer in Rajkot begins at once, and no RMC job waits beyond one business day after the order.
Can bore pits and rock levels be fixed for a Rajkot HDD shot?
Yes. On a rock bore, the driller needs the entry pit, the exit pit and every crossing on one set of coordinates. Shallow basalt leaves little room between services and rock, so the bore profile is tight. Our surveyors set control near the crossing with DGPS for Rajkot bore sites. A total station pick-up then fixes pit centres, road levels and each radar line. The design then shows the clearance above or below every service in metres. Rock met in trial holes is levelled too, which guides the depth of the pilot hole.
Who runs GPR survey on RMC Rajkot projects?
Rajkot jobs stay with Mezux Touch engineers, on radar and locators the company owns, from the first pass to the issued sheet. No field work has been passed to another firm since 2003. The group owns 18 HDD rigs, so rock-bore surveys are laid out the way a driller uses them. RMC has issued work orders in its own name. Contractors, design consultants and utilities on its construction projects also hire us, and their submissions carry our sheets.
For RMC utility mapping, fill in the quote form for Rajkot, and a Mezux engineer replies with the scope in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Can radar see through basalt?
Dry basalt passes the radar signal well, and the top of the rock shows clearly. Joints in the rock can create false targets, so doubtful ones are confirmed.
Do you need the road closed for scanning?
In most cases, no. A ground penetrating radar survey runs in one lane with traffic cover, though ring road junctions may need a short night slot.
Can you set out control points for the drawing?
Yes. We can fix coordinates first with a DGPS survey for Rajkot sites and tie the utility layer to them.
Do you work in the industrial estates around Rajkot?
Yes. Factory roads and plot frontages often hold private HT cables and process pipes, which are identified and mapped separately.
Is a trenchless bore better than a trench in rock?
Often, where the route crosses busy roads or crowded underground utilities. Before drilling, we scan the launch and exit points and the full shot length.
How soon will the drawing arrive?
A short Rajkot route is drawn up in a matter of working days once the scan ends. Longer routes are issued section by section.
Get a written quote for RMC Rajkot works
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Written by Saniya Parveen · Technically reviewed by Rahul Rai · Updated 8 November 2026