Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi has asked officers of Commerce and Transport Department to cover all the unconnected gram panchayats (GPs) with transport facilities in a time-bound manner so that all the leftover GPs would be connected by 2016-17.
Padhi issued this direction while reviewing the activities of the department at the State Secretariat on Saturday. He advised the authorities to give a priority to the left-Wing Extremist (lWE)-affected areas of the State. As many as 19 districts are affected by Maoist menace now.
While 57 small busses are being operated by the OSRTC in the lWE-affected areas now, 32 more busses would be provided in next four months, said a senior official.
Commerce and Transport Secretary Sanjay Rastogi made a power point presentation on the activities of the department.
“All the 813 unconnected GPs would be provided transport facilities under the Biju Gaon Gadi Yojana (BGGY). As of now 110 GPs have been covered and 150 GPs would be connected in four months’ time,” said Rastogi.
It was revealed that a modernised Vehicle Inspection and Certification Centre would come at Cuttack at a cost of Rs15.40 crore, which would have a major share of Central fund.