Odisha urges Centre for early sanction of road projects

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged the Centre to sanction 24 road projects in the left wing extremism (LWE) affected districts of the state.

In a letter to union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Patnaik sought his intervention for early sanction of the road projects submitted under the Road Requirement Plan (RRP), Phase-II.

"Lack of road connectivity has been identified as one of the major infrastructural deficiencies in the LWE affected districts. Improvement in connectivity will greatly help in reaching out to the remote areas and making various services available to the people living there," he stated.

He said while 14 projects had been taken up in Odisha under RRP-I, six of these projects have been completed and five are nearing completion.

Work on the bridge at Janbai that will connect 151 cut-off villages of Balimela reservoir is in full swing and it will be completed within a year. Work on the Chitrakonda-Janbai-Papermetta road is also progressing and will be completed soon, he added.

The proposal for termination of the contract for the 45 km Govindpalli-Salimi-Mahupadar road including a bridge on Chakabuka Nala has been submitted to the ministry of road transport and highways. On their approval, a fresh tender will be put out.

"Thus the work on RRP-I will be concluded soon and it is time for undertaking the next phase of road development. Under RRP-II, the Government of Odisha has submitted proposals for development of 24 road projects in the worst affected Malkangiri and Koraput districts," Patnaik said.

He said these roads are badly required for having proper access to the LWE affected areas.