Bhubaneswar: With a severe Summer being forecasted by IMD, Chief Secretary Shrimati Anu Garg has pinned her primary focus on the accelerated completion of drinking water projects across the state.
Chief Secretary Smt. Garg, presiding over a virtual meeting with all District Collectors on February 17, 2026, issued a firm directive to ensure that all single-village and solar-powered drinking water projects are finalized by March 2026.
This push for rapid infrastructure delivery aims to resolve inter-departmental bottlenecks and provide reliable water access to rural communities within the current fiscal timeline.
To achieve this goal, Collectors were instructed to prioritize land acquisition and facilitate immediate electricity connections for pending mega projects.
The meeting, which included Development Commissioner Shri Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh and Principal Secretary, Commerce and Transport Shri N.B.S. Rajput, Principal Secretary Forest & Environment, Excise, Shri Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, Secretary Panchayati Raj Shri S N Girish and others also addressed the DMs.
The Meeting reviewed status of various regional development funds such as MLA-LAD and MP-LAD.
Officials emphasized that projects already sanctioned under the Chief Minister’s Special Assistance program must be monitored closely to transition from the planning phase to full execution without further delay.
Additional administrative mandates included the urgent submission of District Survey Reports (DSR) for the management of minor minerals and the identification of land for proposed airports and heliports.
The Chief Secretary also highlighted the need for suitable site identification for Excise Department offices and mobile units in districts currently lacking adequate facilities.
The session concluded with a call for enhanced coordination between the Planning and Convergence Department and local administrations to meet all set developmental targets.