BHUBANESWAR: The state cabinet has cleared the Odisha State Road Policy-2025 which aims at effective implementation and monitoring of the road network and making them safer for the users.
Announcing the cabinet decision in the Assembly on Friday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the policy will provide a framework for developing a well-organised system for development of roads that ensures safe, sustainable and efficient movement of people and goods.
This policy aligns with the state government’s ambitious plans to construct 75,000 km of world-class roads by 2029-30. An allocation of over Rs 60,000 crore has been made in the budget 2025-26 for infrastructure development, a significant portion of which will be directed towards improving connectivity in rural and urban areas.
As part of the policy framework, fresh guidelines will be prepared for inter-departmental handover of roads along with provisioning adequate and sustainable funding for their management and maintenance. It will also help strengthen the capacity of organisations involved in planning, design, procurement, construction, maintenance and management of the road network. There will be substantial improvement in safety aspects of the road network to reduce accidents and fatalities, Majhi said.
The proposed Odisha State Road Policy-2025 also focuses on construction of bridges. A comprehensive online bridge information system (BIS) will be developed to store detailed information of all the bridges in the state on an online platform. Annual assessment of the bridges will be done with the help of advanced mechanisms and technology. The assessment report of the condition of bridges will be updated regularly in the BIS and Odisha road asset management system.
“Infrastructure development is important to attract investments and boost the economy of the state. We are planning to implement various high-value projects with a target of constructing 75,000 km of roads across the state in next five years,” Majhi said.
The cabinet also approved the Odisha State Highways Authority Bill-2025 to meet the increasing need for expanding road infrastructure. The government will form highway authority as an autonomous body on the lines of National Highway Authority of India.