Bureaucratic red tape has delayed construction of a hanging bridge on river Brahmani in Sundargarh district despite the sanction of `13 crore from the Centre.
Though the Sundargarh Collector, who is also the Chairman of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), has given his consent for the proposed project a few days ago, the project is hanging fire due to delay in approval from the State Secretariat.
The project needs intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said a senior official in the Sundargarh district administration.
Meanwhile, Rourkela MlA Dilip Ray has expressed his anguish over the delay in the construction of the proposes hanging bridge that would connect tribals-dominated Jhadatarang panchayat and the blocks of lathikata, Nuagaon, Kuanrmunda, Panposh and Rajgangpur with the steel city of Rourkela.
Besides, people of Vedavyas region would be benefited due to the bridge, which would also connect two wards of the Rourkela Municipal Corporation.
Sources said Ray has urged the State Government several times to clear the project. Recently, he wrote to the Chief Minister seeking his intervention in the issue.
The proposed bridge would prove to be a lifeline for lakhs of tribals living on the outskirts of Rourkela, Ray said in his letter, and demanded that the construction should be completed within six months.