RD department of the Odisha government plans to construct 1,500 new bridges with an outlay of Rs 6,000 cr

Bhubaneswar: 29/5/23:With an aim to increase rural connectivity significantly in the State, the Rural Development department of the Odisha government plans to construct 1,500 new bridges with an outlay of Rs 6,000 cr under Biju Setu Yojana (BSY) in the next five years, informed Rural Development Minister Preeti Ranjan Ghadai during a performance review meeting held by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today.

The department will also facilitate construction of 15,000 km of roads under Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana with an expenditure of Rs 12,000 cr, he said while sharing the department’s vision and roadmap for the next five years. Presenting details of the achievement against the promises given in the election manifesto and transformational initiatives during a press meet held at Geeta Govinda Sadan, Ghadai said the department budget has risen 25 times in comparison to the year 2000-2001 ( from Rs 305 cr to Rs 7,500 cr in the year 2023-24) and till date, 2,241 have been constructed under various schemes and another 1,304 are under construction.

That apart, 1,03,731 km roads are being maintained by the department for all weather connectivity to as many as 18,161 habitations. While  over 10,000 km roads have been constructed using green technology, 8,700 buildings like colleges, schools, multipurpose cyclone shelters, etc have been built to augment infrastructure in rural areas.

Against the manifesto (2019-2024), commitment was made for 750 bridges under BSY out of which 679 have been completed and 900 will be constructed by March 2024.

Similarly, 6,247 km length roads have been completed under MMSY and other State plan schemes against the commitment of 3,000 km. The department also plans to complete another 6,000 km roads by March 2024.

Ghadai also said that the department has been awarded at the National level for construction of maximum road length, road construction using Green technology and connectivity to inaccessible habitations. The RD department is the first department to implement WAMIS for work automation and accounts management which has been adopted by other engineering departments of the State, he added.

Principal Secretary of the RD department Sanjay Kumar Singh was present at the meeting among others. A documentary of the RD department’s achievements was presented on the occasion.