Road work moving slowly: Jairam

The Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned proposals worth Rs 1,068 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. While intimating the approval of the  committee to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh expressed his displeasure over the slow pace of completion of the infrastructure projects.

“The State is required to enhance its capacity to deliver the desired quality of roads,” the empowered committee remarked.

Advising the State Government to increase the strength of the project implementation units (PIUs), Ramesh said 2,048 road works out of the project sanctioned till March, 2011, have  remained incomplete. “Unless the State enhances its execution capacity, the desired progress with respect to speed and quality cannot be achieved.

Hence, the Ministry has decided to sent the Joint Secretary along with his team to the State to have a meeting with the State officials and the contractors to resolve various issues faced by the State before August end,” Ramesh said.

The MoRD has sanctioned 343 road projects covering 1,184 km at a cost of Rs 584 crore and 140 long span bridges at an estimated cost of Rs 483 crore.

As the quality of roads constructed under the flagship programme is not satisfactory, the Union Minister has suggested that the Chief Minister should institutionalise quality monitoring system in a few selected districts and send the plan to the Ministry by the end of this month.