Bhubaneswar: In an attempt to boost the local economy and ensure faster evacuation/transportation of minerals, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy has asked the agencies concerned to complete 21 identified road projects on a priority basis.
Carrying forward the doctrines of 5T and ‘Ease of Doing Business’, the government has prioritised 21 road projects in mining areas based on feedback received from the people and users.
Holding a meeting in this regard recently, Tripathy set a timeline for each project and directed the officials of the Works & Rural Development departments and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to monitor the progress of each project closely and ensure their timely completion.
He asked the Collectors of Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts to streamline the traffic movement for unhindered progress of the road construction.
Out of the prioritised roads, six are under the administrative control of the Works department, seven under NHAI, and two roads under Rural Development (RD) department.
The RD roads are Rugudi to Kalmanga (6 km) and Kalmanga to Jaribahal (18 km). Additional Chief Secretary, Rural Development PK Jena said both the roads would be completed by July 2021.
The NHAI roads included the road from Parsora (near Rimuli) to Rajamunda; Keonjhar to Tileibani NH-59; Cuttack to Sambalpur NH-55; Biramitrapur to Barkot via Rajamunda NH-143; Remuli to Panikoili NH-20; Chandikhol to Talcher NH-53; and Kalta Mines to Roxy Railway Siding NH-20. Target was set to complete these NH projects by March 2022.
Similarly, Works department roads included the road from Nelda-Barbil (5.6 km); Bardil-Badasahi (8.9 km); Nayagarh to Jajang (18 km); Tensa to Barsua public siding (15 km); and repair of the bridge over Karo river. The review showed that these road projects are in progress. The Chief Secretary directed the departments concerned to complete these projects within the scheduled time.