919-km road network laid in 2009-10

The Orissa works department has overshot its road construction target for 2009-10. The department completed the construction of 919 km of road network in 15 projects out of the targeted 898 km in 12 projects.

It may be noted that the state works department spent 98.4 per cent of the non-plan outlay and 94 per cent of the plan outlay during the last fiscal.

The department expects to spend Rs 863.75 crore under the Planned Scheme and Rs 765.8 crore under the Non-Plan scheme in 2010-11.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to come out with a Renewal Code on the lines of National Highways for repair and renovation of the state highways.

This decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the works department chaired by the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik in the presence of Bijay K Pattnaik, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and works secretary Subhendu K Ray.

“The Centre has given Rs 250 crore for widening the National Highways- 200, 201 and 43. These single lane highways would be converted to two lane roads”, Ray said after the review meeting.

The state government has targeted to convert all single lane state highway roads into two-lane roads within the next two years. Presently 2286.26 km of state highways out of the total network of 3682.78 km are single lane roads.

It has also been decided to commission 25 major bridges in the state over the next two years.

Moreover, to undertake the construction of 20 road projects in the Naxalite infested regions, the state government has sought an assistance of Rs 853 crore from the Centre.

The state government would also request the Centre to release an additional Rs 300 crore for the Bijayawada-Ranchi corridor. Till now, 100.23 km stretch of this corridor has been commissioned with a Central assistance of Rs 462 crore.