BHUBANESWAR : As many as 15 projects from the state have been shortlisted for the 17th Viswakarma Awards-2026 instituted by Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC), New Delhi.
Architect Tara Prasad Dhal and engineer Ashok Kumar Basa will also be receiving the Viswakarma Award this year in the Industry Doyen category for their outstanding contribution to construction sector of the state.
The CIDC in a letter to chief secretary Anu Garg has informed that the awards will be given during the ‘17th CIDC Viswakarma Awards and Exhibition’ to be held in New Delhi on April 10.
Around 1,550 applications had been received by the CIDC in various categories from across India for the awards this year. A significant representation, from both public and private sectors, was also received from Odisha for key projects including building, highway and irrigation, officials said.
The projects include Lokayukta Bhawan, the permanent building for office of Lokayukta in Bhubaneswar; Aquatic Centre and Badminton high performance centre ‘Shuttle’ of the Sports department; package OD o7 of Raipur-Visakhapatnam economic corridor in Koraput; construction of 250-bed postgraduate hospital block for mother and child in Jajpur; five irrigation projects of Water Resources department and three projects of Works department.
Apart from these awards, a book on lean construction technology, co-authored by former engineer-in-chief of Works department Manoranjan Mishra has also been scheduled to be unveiled during the event.
“It is indeed a proud moment for the state to have a number of spectacular entries selected for the award in different categories. It gives extraordinary recognition to works of architects and engineers on field who are executing the assignments in challenging conditions,” said architect Tara Prasad Dhal.