Bhubaneswar: Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan reviewed the progress of piped drinking water supply projects in Khordha district and Chilika Assembly constituency.
Chairing the meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan, the Minister directed officials to complete all ongoing construction works within the stipulated timeframe and take action against agencies responsible for delays. He emphasised the need for better coordination among different departments to ensure pure piped water reaches every household.
The meeting took stock of the Chilika-Tangi-Banapur piped water supply project, the Ranipada cluster under Banapur block, the Begunia-Bolagarh project, and similar schemes in Balianta, Balipatna and Bhubaneswar blocks.
Harichandan instructed officials to promptly resolve issues related to land acquisition, forest clearance and removal of encroachments. He also advised that major projects should be planned with a 30 to 50-year perspective to avoid repeated digging and disruption in future.
Expressing concern over delays by some contracting agencies, the Minister directed Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers and other officials to closely monitor the works and initiate action wherever necessary.
Senior officers including Commissioner-cum- Secretary to Government, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department Girish S.N., Director of Drinking Water & Sanitation Vineet Bhardwaj and Khordha Collector Amrit Ruturaj attended the meeting.
Among others, Engineer-in-Chief of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Ratnakar Sial, Khordha Divisional Forest Officer Gajanan Lade, Chief Engineer Manoranjan Jena, Chilika BDO Poonam Mahapatra, Chilika Block Chairperson Jyotsna Behera, Banapur Block Chairperson Amarendra Ranasingh, Superintending Engineer Rashmita Das and other departmental officers and representatives of contracting agencies were present in the meeting.
