By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh on Saturday reviewed the progress of various developmental schemes and projects under the Rural Development Department.
Presiding over the meeting held at the department’s Oswan Hall in the Lok Seva Bhavan on Saturday, Mr Singh said that the department bears a major responsibility in the field of rural infrastructure development. Therefore, it is the prime responsibility of the department to complete all the construction work within the stipulated time. He directed the officials to complete all the projects under the Rural Development Department in a thorough process.
Mr Singh instructed to give priority to CM grievances. He expressed that the department must focus on the immediate resolution of all complaints related to the department coming from the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell. Till date, all the complaints related to the department from the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell have been processed and the program has been started. Out of that, 1231.36 crores for 65 bridges, 292.73 crores for 45 road projects have been allotted and work has been started. Among these, the work of 12 projects has been completed while the tender process of 46 and DPR preparation of 37 has been completed.
Similarly, Mr Singh directed that the ongoing projects under the RIDF scheme should be completed on time and the PCR issued and the pending DPR in the road and bridge sector should be submitted within the next week. If any project cannot be completed within the stipulated time due to external reasons, then the finance department will be requested to extend the time period for the PCR till next March. In the month of October, 60 per cent of the departmental budget will be given to the divisions. At present, the project expenditure of the department is 50 per cent. By the end of next October, all divisions must spend at least 60 per cent of the grant and all divisions must spend a minimum of Rs 15 crore and submit reports.
Principal Secy. also asked to complete the pending tender process with 100 per cent administrative approval. Similarly, the departmental engineers were instructed to inquire about the progress of the project under Biju Setu Yojana and to complete the approach roads by the end of next October.
Mr Singh instructed the departmental engineers to complete the tender process of the remaining projects prior to the financial year 2021-22 and finalize the DPR of all the projects taken up in the financial year 2022-23 and 2023-24. It was emphasized in the meeting that the unfinished work under Biju Setu Yojana should be completed by the end of next October.
Mr Singh said that the ongoing projects under the MMSY should be completed on the basis of priority and the projects which were incomplete before 2021-22 should be completed by December.
In addition to this, he asked to close the tender process for all the projects with 100 per cent administrative approval in the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Bitumen/Pichu used in the roads being constructed under the MMSY must be of high quality. For this, there is a departmental order to buy high-quality Bitumen/Pichu from authorised companies like IOCL, and HPCL. Singh warned in the meeting that strict action will be taken if it is revealed.
In the meeting, the PMGSY, MMSY, roads and buildings, all schemes of the Rural Development Department and the Chief Minister’s Grievance Hearing were discussed. Principal Secretary Mr. Singh inquired about the progress and current status of all the above programs from all the officers of each circle and division. The meeting was attended by senior officers of the department including Mr Arvind Agarwal, Director of the Rural Development Department, Mr Sudarshan Parida, Special Secretary, EIC Mr Akshay Kumar Pradhan, EIC Mr Jeevananda Naik and others.
