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As the Odisha government approved major road projects on Thursday in the 43rd State Cabinet meeting, Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Friday said that the goal is to expand the road network of the State with the most extensive road system in the country.
"As part of the Bhubaneswar decongestion programme, yesterday the Cabinet approved the Jaydev Vihar-Nandankanan corridor. That road will be a six-lane carriageway, along with two-lane service roads on both sides. The project is expected to be completed within the next two years. The process is already underway, with all approvals granted and the tendering completed. Work is expected to begin soon. This will be a remarkable step in Odisha's road development projects. The goal is to expand the road network so that Odisha becomes the state with the most extensive and best-maintained road system in the country," he said. Earlier on Thursday, Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg said that the Odisha government has approved two major road projects in Bhubaneswar, including the Kalinga Stadium to Raghunathpur Bridge corridor, and the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan Road project costing Rs 579 crore and to be completed in 24 months. "These will include flyovers, underpasses, parking, subways, and commercial development to decongest traffic and improve connectivity. In Sundargarh district, a 6.8 km diversion road (Dudka-Gopalpur-Topariya) costing Rs 160 crore was approved to support mining, tourism, and local connectivity," she said. Along with the road projects, the Odisha government approved other major development proposals, including an ambitious Rs 2,295 crore deep-sea fishing mission, a major regulatory shift to scale up shrimp farming and a state-of-the-art Rs 268 crore data centre. Two in-stream storage structures were approved by the Water Resources Department, including one in Belgaon, Kesinga block of Kalahandi (Rs 256 crore, 3-year timeline) and another on the River Om at Jamutpalli, Bargarh (Rs 159 crore, 2.5-year timeline) to conserve water, recharge groundwater tables, and supply sustainable drinking water to 41 villages. The Revenue Department allocated 200 acres of land to facilitate the construction of three massive 765 kV grid substations to strengthen the state's power network, she said. She added that the School and Mass Education Department's midday meal scheme has been extended to include students in classes 9 and 10. The cabinet approved the continuation of this vital nutritional program for the next four years, covering 7.41 lakh children at an estimated cost of Rs 4,224 crore over a five-year period. (ANI)
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