Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday reviewed major activities of Works Department. Initiating the discussion, Prafulla Kumar Mallik, Minister, Steel & Mines, Works highlighted on the implementation of Election Manifesto–2019 of the Government, discussed the achievements of the Department in last two decades and the achievement in last four years. Sri Veer Bikram Yadav, Principal Secretary, Works Department was present on the occasion.
Minister Mallik said that Biju Expressway (length – 546 km) from North to South connecting Rourkela to Ampani has been completed in record time. Biju Expressway-II (length – 318 km) connecting Berhampur to Jeypore is being taken up. 6800 km roads have been completed as against the assurance of 1000 km, this is exceptional and 680% above the target. For this Rs.18500 Crore has been spent.
267 block headquarters have been provided with 2-lane road connectivity. 26 more block headquarters will be connected by March, 2024. Rest 21 block headquarters are targeted to be connected with 2-lane roads by June, 2024. All Municipal Corporations, 46 Municipalities and 63 NACs have been provided with all-weather 2-lane roads. 55 major industrial clusters such as Indian Ordinance Factory in Bolangir district, Bhusan Steel Ltd in Dhenkanal district, Sabitri Industries (P) Ltd in Jajpur district, Vedanta Limited in Jharsuguda district, TATA Steel Ltd., Ferro Alloys Plant in Keonjhar district, Rourkela Steel Plant, Rourkela etc. have been provided with 2-lane/ 4-lane connectivity. Besides, 15 roads have been taken up to connect industrial clusters.
Minister Mallik also said that 12 Major tourist places of importance such as Chandipur, Talasari in Balasore district, Lalitgiri in Cuttack district, Taratarini in Ganjam district, Chilika, Dhauli and Salia Dam in Khordha district, Daringibadi in Kandhamal district, Gupteswar in Koraput district, Satapada in Puri district, Huma in Sambalpur district and Ghoghar in Sundargarh district have been connected with 2-lane roads. Besides, 5 other tourist spots have been planned for providing 2-lane connectivity by March 2024. 50 Wayside Amenities Centres have been developed and handed over to Mission Shakti Department, to be maintained by Women SHGs. This will be first of its kind model in the country. New ring roads have been planned for execution in important towns such as Bhadrak, Berhampur, Baripada, Balasore, Bhawanipatna, Balangir, Bargarh, Cuttack, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur.
The Minister informed that in last two decades, the total road length of Works Department has almost doubled from 16041 km to 31317 km. In last two decades, as many as 521 bridges have been completed including 12 bridges across river Mahanadi, 5 across Brahmani, 6 across Baitarani, 3 across Budhabalang and 3 across Kharasrota. The long awaited Gurupriya bridge connecting Swabhiman Anchal has also been completed.
Minister highlighted that in last four years the following important projects have also been executed by the Department. 3 Medical Colleges at Kalahandi, Keonjhar and Puri have been completed at a cost of Rs.770 Cr. and 2 will be completed by Dec, 2023. 3 District Headquarter Hospitals at Kendrapada, Nayagarh and Nawarangpur have been completed at a cost of Rs.155 Cr and 7 will be completed by Dec, 2023. 1 Teaching Hospital at Keonjhar has been completed at a cost of Rs.116 Cr., 7 will be completed by Dec, 2023 & 1 by April, 2024. 2 Cancer Care Hospitals will be completed by Dec 2023, 1 by Jan 2024, 4 by May 2024 and 3 by July 2024.
To boost Sports activities, 44 Multi-Purpose Indoor Stadiums have been completed and 41 will be completed by 31st July 2023. In last four years, 62 bridges have been completed for a length of 18201 m at a cost of Rs.1053 Cr. Besides, 12 ROBs of total length 6199 m at a cost of Rs.705 Cr. and 1 flyover of length 1880 m at a cost of Rs.119 Cr. have been completed. Further, 118 bridges and 23 ROBs are in progress. Some of the important bridges completed are: Nelson Mandela Bridge at Sambalpur, T-bridge at Singhanath Pitha over river Mahanadi, Bridge over River Mahanadi at Dholpur, Boudh, Bridge over River Brahmani at Kaluria, Dhenkanal, Bridge over river Budhabalanga at Balasore. Some important RoBs completed are: RoB at Balasore, RoB at Sambalpur town, RoB at Rourkela. The part of Vijaywada – Ranchi Corridor from Motu of Malkangiri district to Tiring of Mayurbhanj district for a length of 1200 km has been completed at a cost of Rs.1,872 Cr. in the year 2021. It passes through 12 districts of Odisha i.e. Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Boudh, Angul, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj.
Two Airports at Jeypore and Utkela have been completed at a cost of Rs.300 Crore. Airport at Rangeilunda is under development at a cost of Rs.100 Crore. New Airport at Malkangiri is under construction at a cost of Rs.74 Crore and will be completed by November 2023. 31 Bridge-cum-Check Dam projects have been completed for enhancing storage of water in the streams for use during the dry seasons as well as for recharging of ground water. Jamujhadi – Basudevpur – Dhamara Road (length – 60.47 km) serves un-interrupted access to Dhamara Port and DRDO facility at Kalam Island at Chandipur.
Hon’ble Minister informed that following Iconic projects have also been taken up and significant progress has been made. ABADHA Scheme aims at developing Puri into a World Class Heritage City. 21 projects have been approved under the scheme. Total cost of these projects is Rs.4224 Crore. Development of Maa Samaleswari Temple envisages to enhance Devotee’s Experience and develop Samaleswari into a major pilgrim centre in Odisha. The development plan covers 30 acres of area including development of the Mahanadi ghats with a Project Cost of Rs.193 Cr. The target date of completion of the project is November, 2023. EKAMRA Scheme aims at reviving and preserving the heritage value and grandeur of Lingaraj Temple and its surroundings. The project cost is Rs.214 Crore.
