Koraput: Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Saturday visited the disputed Kotia group of villages in Koraput district and reviewed the progress of developmental projects undertaken in the bordering area.
He interacted with members of panchayat level women Self Help Group (SHG) federation and water shed groups and suggested to undertake more hill-groom plantation in the area.
Mr.Mahapatra also visited Panchayat office, interacted with sarpanch and other elected representatives. The matters relating to leveraging various Governmental schemes for integrated socio-economic development of the Panchayat figured in the discussion.
Mr.Mahapatra directed concerned officials to intensify the implementation of the special package for the Kotia group of villages. He also visited Deomali hills and interacted with people residing there. He emphasized on cleanliness and preservation of natural surroundings. He also directed DFO, Koraput to select the site for Eco-Reserve.
During his two days visit to Koraput district, Mahapatra visited the places including Jeypore, Koraput to Kotia, Narayanpatana and Bandhugaon.
A review meeting was held in Koraput wherein collector Abdaal M. Akhtar along with district-level officers of concerned departments presented the update.
Mainly the projects relating to construction of medical college and hospital at Koraput, expansion wing of district head quarter hospital, development of Jeypore airport, construction of roads and bridges, implementation of special package for Kotia group of villages, lift irrigation, supply of piped drinking water, livelihood programmes and construction works of Bharatmala project were discussed in the meeting.
Review showed that the commercial operations would start soon. Development of required infrastructure for operation of commercial flights was at the finishing stage. The commercial operation is expected to start in about three months, sources said.
Time line was set to complete the 300 bed hospital wing of district headquarter hospital in coming 18 months. Mahapatra directed to renovate 200-year-old Jagannath Sagar in Jeypore and develop it to a tourist point.
Under Bharatmala Project, around 245 kms of road in Koraput and Nabarangpur district would be developed to four lanes. The project would connect Raipur in Chhattisgarh to Vishakhpatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Special feature of the road included complete access control and improved connectivity between several economic hubs, and industrial clusters like HAL and NALCO.
The Chief Secretary directed the completion of the first phase of road construction before the onset of the monsoon. He also directed to distribute compensation awards expeditiously, and hand over the balance land to NHAI at the earliest.