Bhubaneswar: Odisha Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Wednesday reviewed the progress of major National Highway projects worth over Rs 50 crore being implemented across the state and directed officials to expedite construction by addressing bottlenecks, including land acquisition and forest clearance issues.
The review meeting, held at Nirman Soudh in Bhubaneswar, assessed projects being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, and the National Highway divisions of the state Works Department.
Several major highway projects came up for discussion, including the 240-km Raipur–Visakhapatnam Road Corridor, the Chandikhole–Paradip connecting road, the Kataka– Anugola–Sambalpur Corridor, the Sambalpur Bypass, the Kataka–Kandarpur Road and the Coastal Highway projects covering the Rameswar–Paradip and Paradip–Digha stretches.
The progress of several other projects was also reviewed, including the four-laning of the Redhakhol–Sambalpur and Rourkela–Ranchi roads, the six-laning of the Koida–Barbil–Chandikhole Road and the Puintala–Tangi stretch of NH-16, and the four-laning of the Jharsuguda–Tileibani Road.
The meeting also reviewed the greenfield Sambalpur–Jharsuguda Road, the six-lane Puri–Bhubaneswar Road with service roads and the Capital Region Ring Road project.
Projects being undertaken by the National Highway divisions of the state Works Department were also discussed. These included the widening of the Koksara–Nabarangpur, Mohana–Koraput and Bhanjanagar–Asika roads, besides the Daringbadi Ghat Road under NH-59.
The Brahmapur and Khordha bypass projects, four-lane Khariar Road and Kesinga Railway Overbridges (ROBs), the Jayapur Bypass on NH-260, a high-level bridge on the Malkangiri–Motu Road and the widening of the Kandarpur–Balikuda Road were also reviewed.
During the meeting, officials discussed key challenges affecting project implementation, including land acquisition, forest land-related clearances, utility shifting and other administrative and technical bottlenecks.
Works Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh briefed the Minister on the progress of the projects and the issues hindering their timely execution.
He advised departmental officials and engineers to strengthen coordination with other departments, make extensive use of the Bhoomirashi portal for land acquisition-related activities and ensure that stipulated targets are achieved to accelerate construction.
Singh also urged Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers to take stringent action against contractors found negligent in executing construction works.
Among those present at the meeting were Engineer Sameer Hota, Engineer-in-Chief and Special Secretary; Engineer Satyabrata Behera, Engineer-in-Chief (Civil and Roads); Swayam Mallick, Special Secretary, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department; Chief Engineer, NH-I, Engineer Narayan Patel; Chief Engineer, NH-II, Engineer Deepak Panigrahi; Regional Officer of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Engineer Sunil Kumar; NHAI Regional Officer Engineer Pradeep Lal; and Additional Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sahu.
Chief Engineers, Additional Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers from various zones, officials from different departments and representatives of executing agencies also attended the meeting.
