BHUBANESWAR: Nearly six months after the Odisha government and India Post jointly decided to relocate 573 rural branch post offices (BOs) to panchayat buildings to improve access to postal services in villages, the initiative has reported a sluggish progress with only 15 per cent of the target achieved so far.
Although in a consultative meeting held under the chairmanship of chief secretary Manoj Ahuja in June this year, it was decided to shift the identified 573 BOs to panchayat buildings within two months on rent free basis, only 71 have been done by the end of November.
Officials attributed the delay to lack of adequate and usable space in many panchayat buildings. Several buildings selected during the initial feasibility survey were later found to be either not centrally located, too congested or unsuitable for accommodating postal operations.
Sources said the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water (PR&WD) department, in consultation with India Post, has now decided to include other government structures such as schools, Anganwadi centres, primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs) and similar establishments with additional rooms and significant public footfall for housing post offices in rural areas.
At the consultative meeting, chief postmaster general Nirmaljit Singh had stressed that relocation of post offices to gram panchayat buildings or other suitable government premises will substantially improve rural accessibility to postal and financial services. “It will also help improve visibility, enhance security and provide a more conducive working environment for both postal staff and the villagers,” he said.
Sources said of 15 postal divisions, Balasore has the highest 110 BOs to be relocated, followed by 69 in Kendrapara, 65 in Rourkela, 56 in Rairangpur, 47 in Sundargarh, 33 in Nayagarh, 32 in Rayagada, 28 in Cuttack city, 20 in Bhubaneswar, 19 in Cuttack South, 11 in Kalahandi and 10 in Puri. All nine identified BOs in Aska, Jajpur and Sambalpur have been relocated.
Meanwhile, the PR&WD department has asked all districts to accelerate the process in coordination with postal divisions and line departments. Collectors have been asked to complete the relocation of the remaining BOs to panchayat buildings or other government premises by December 20 by resolving all logistical hurdles.
Centrally-located public buildings, officials said, will allow villagers to access services with ease, reducing travel time and encouraging higher utilisation of essential postal functions including banking, Aadhaar-linked services, insurance and last-mile delivery.
Odisha postal circle has 8,912 post offices, comprising 35 head post offices, 1,150 sub-post offices and 7,692 branch post offices. Plans are afoot to open 300 more BOs in the state.
Shifting Backlog
Balasore: 110
Kendrapara: 69
Rourkela: 65
Rairangpur: 56
Sundargarh: 47
Nayagarh: 33
Rayagada: 32
Cuttack city: 28
Bhubaneswar: 20