BHUBANESWAR: In a major push to improve connectivity in rural areas, the Odisha Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday approved several schemes for construction and repair of roads in such regions across the state.
The meeting approved a scheme with an outlay of Rs 6,700 crore for upgradation of around 15,500 km roads transferred from the Panchayati Raj to the Rural Development department.
Chief secretary Anu Garg told mediapersons that the scheme will continue till 2029-30. “The scheme has been launched to provide better access to health and education facilities, and improve communication and connectivity to panchayats, schools, colleges, hospitals and other similar institutions,” she said.
Garg said construction of the roads will also improve the standard of living of the people residing in faraway places and detached from the mainstream.
The cabinet also approved to take up construction of 1,750 new bridges in addition to completion of 1,417 ongoing bridges with an outlay of Rs 11,800 crore under the Setu Bandhan Yojana (SBY).
The SBY was initially launched as the Biju Setu Yojana in 2011-12. In 2021-22, the scheme was approved to be implemented for five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 8,799.22 crore. “However, considering the necessity of bridges in rural areas for improving communication, the scheme has been extended up to 2030-31,” the chief secretary said.
This apart, the cabinet also approved a proposal to implement the ‘bridge-cum-weir’ project for five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an outlay of Rs 600 crore for construction of 508 new bridge-cum-weirs and completion of 162 ongoing constructions. It also gave its nod to a proposal to extend the Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana (MMSY) for five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an outlay of Rs 4,000 crore for construction of 4,607.21 km roads and completion of 115 km roads.
The cabinet also launched another scheme for improvement of existing roads with an outlay of Rs 5,700 crore. The scheme will continue till 2030-31 during which 17,500 km roads will be upgraded and improved.
The chief secretary said under another scheme, ‘MMSY-Connecting Missing Road Links’, an outlay of Rs 1,917 crore has been approved for construction of 3,850 km of roads. It will continue till 2030-31, she said. Besides, under the ‘MMSY-Connecting Unconnected Villages in Difficult Areas’ scheme, an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore was approved for construction of 1,150 km roads. This scheme will also continue till 2030-31.