K'mal BPl families to get power by October, 2018

The State Government has decided to prepare a database on villages and hamlets after field inspection for making available necessary services, said Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi. 

Chairing a meeting held at the State Secretariat here to review the work progress of the developmental programmes in Kandhamal district, Padhi directed the department officials concerned to complete the projects by deadlines.

Among others, Rural Development Principal Secretary Madhusudan Padhi, Health and Family Welfare Principal Secretary Arti Ahuja, Principal Secretary Works Nalini Kanta Pradhan, GRIDCO and OPTCl CMD Hemant Sharma, Kandhamal Collector G Raghu and other senior officials participated.

He reviewed the programmes, including Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, rural electrification, water and electricity connection to primary health centres and community health centres, development of roads connected to the health centres, piped water supply, development of Baliguda hospital, Tikabali road development, Gumudumuha road construction, patta distribution under Forest Right Act, hostel construction for tribal girls, livelihood assistance to tribals in Gumudumuha and providing education and other aids to children of the victims in Gumudumuha killings. 

Reviewing the work progress of the projects, Padhi directed to provide electricity to all the BPl families by October 2018 in Kandhamal district.

Similarly, the Government decided to complete 220/33 KV substation by June 2017 in Baliguda. Padhi directed to construct check dams on the streams in the places, where the digging of deep tube well is not found successful and make arrangement for pure drinking water supply through necessary processing by June 2017.

A number of developmental agencies and contractors are participating in the tender process called by the Government under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana following the anti-Maoist operations in the tribal dominated district.

Padhi directed the Rural Development engineers to expedite the road work, make ground level inspection of the 5-year maintenance agreement of the completed roads and cover more number of villages under the scheme.

Notably, the construction work of 16 out of 22 promoted high schools has been completed so far and the rest 6 schools have been set to be finished by June 2017. On the other hand, two out of five projects started under Biju Setu Yojana have been completed and the construction work of remaining three has been expedited. A target has been set to complete the construction work of five model schools in the district by February 2017.

Out of 400 tube wells approved for the year 2016-17 in the district, 155 tube wells and 55 safe wells have been dug. The Government has completed two piped water supply projects. The remaining 28 projects have been set to be functional by March 2017.