Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed officials to expedite the completion of 68 ongoing Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) projects being implemented with assistance from NABARD, officials said.
A review meeting on the projects was held at Lok Seva Bhawan under the chairmanship of Works Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, during which the status and issues related to the 68 projects were examined.
Of the 192 RIDF projects approved in the state, 124 have been completed, while work on the remaining 68 projects is under way. The pending projects comprise 44 bridges and 24 roads.
The review focused on bottlenecks affecting the progress of the projects, including utility shifting, diversion of forest land and land acquisition. Singh directed departmental officials to accord priority to resolving these issues and accelerate the pace of construction so that the projects can be completed at the earliest.
Singh said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan have consistently stressed the timely completion of infrastructure and public welfare projects in the state.
The meeting was attended by EIC and Special Secretary Samir Hota, Financial Advisor Ratikanta Mahapatra, Additional Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sahu, Deputy Secretary Sundar Madhab Padhi, Chief Engineer (Bridge-1) Prabhas Kumar Majhi, Chief Engineer (Bridge-2) Tapan Kumar Behera, besides superintending engineers and other senior officials.
