Odisha draws Rural Road Maintenance Policy, 2017

In a bid to prolong the life of rural roads by reducing deterioration, Odisha government has formulated the new Rural Road Maintenance Policy, 2017.
It has been approved at the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik yesterday.
The objective of the policy is to maintain rural roads as per predetermined specifications by optimal utilisation of resources, Rural Development Secretary B P Sethi said today.
Of the state's total road length of 2,49,570 km, rural roads comprises 2,19,675 km, which is 88 percent of the entire road network in Odisha.
According to the policy, the department of rural development is the nodal department for road maintenance and a committee headed by rural development secretary has been formed to implement the policy.

A road maintenance management system will be in place for preparing a comprehensive database to carry out maintenance work in a planned and efficient manner, Sethi said.