The 14th Kandhamal District Planning Committee meeting was held here on Wednesday. Minister Bikrama Keshari Arukh, MP Pratyusa Rajeshwari Singh, district Collector Dr N Thirumala Naik, the DRDA PD and MlAs from Phulbani, Baliguda and G Udayagiri, Zila Parisad president and other district-level officials attended the meeting.
During the meeting, it was alleged that while the Kotagada block has 11 numbers of gram panchayats, no initiative has been taken for the development of its villagers. Of the 11, seven panchayats are in the top of Ghats (hilly areas) and there is no road and water connectivity for the people residing in these areas. Notably, MP Pratyusa Rajeshwari has adopted the Bilabadi gram panchayat under the recently-launched Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).