Even as road projects worth ` 6,000 crore have remained incomplete, the State Government on Thursday claimed to have achieved 100 per cent fund utilisation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) during 2012-13.
As many as 10,518 roads with a total length of 41,260 kms were sanctioned by Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) till the end of last year. The Ministry had released ` 9711.80 crore to the State, of which ` 9735.81 crore has been utilised and 6828 roads have been completed connecting 8773 habitations by March, 2013.
In its progress report submitted to the Government, the Rural Development department said 1,148 kms of rural roads have been completed at a cost of ` 857 crore connecting additional 233 habitations till November.
Target has been set to connect 517 more habitations at an estimated cost of ` 743 crore during the current financial year, official sources said after review of the rural road projects by Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra.
As the State is often criticised for not arranging adequate manpower for execution of PMGSY projects, in the meeting it was told that Finance Department has given approval for creation of 10 new project implementing units (PIUs) for enhancing implementation capacity of state machinery.
The new PIUs will be set up in rural works divisions of Kuchinda, Baliguda, Mohana, Gunupur, Bhanjanagar, Kasingha, Kharia, Patnagarh, Jeypore and Nayagarh. Meanwhile, the empowered committee of MoRD has sanctioned 343 road projects with a total length of 1184.06 kms at an estimated cost of ` 586.64 crore. Besides, 140 long span bridges with estimated cost of ` 483.41 crore have also been sanctioned.