Bhubaneswar: The rural development in Odisha has been pushed into the back burner, thanks to the criminal negligence of the Rural Works Department.

Unholy Nexus Between Officials and Contractors

The projects are allegedly being executed in a honeymoon-like arrangement between department officials and contractors. This nexus has emboldened the contractors as there is no check on their activities. Massive irregularities have been committed, particularly in bridge and road works, sabotaging both Central and State government missions to enhance rural infrastructure.

Odisha rural infrastructure derailed

According to Niti Aayog’s Growth Hub (G-Hub) initiative, crores of rupees sanctioned under the Setu Bandhan Yojana (2023–2024) for bridge construction have gone unutilized or remain incomplete. All these projects are tagged as ‘Work Under Progress’, as revealed in a letter by the Rural Works Additional Chief Engineer to the Khordha district Collector. Odisha rural infrastructure derailed.

11 Bridge Projects Left Hanging

As many as 11 bridge projects in Khordha district are in limbo. Some examples include:

• Bridge on Dhanua river on Bhuinchaun–Dhabalhar road (Cost: ₹2.141 crore)

• Bridge at Charipadar on Prachi Nullah

• Bridge over Malaguni river near Olabarsingh

• Bridge on Gangau river

All these have been tagged as “Work in Progress” with no visible progress on the ground.

Road Projects Suffer the Same Fate

The road construction projects taken up by the Rural Works Department are also plagued by delay and mismanagement. Noteworthy examples include:

• Kaipadar–Madhapur via Shanta Road (Estimated cost: ₹472 crore)

• Nandan Kanana–Raghunathpur road (Estimated cost: ₹550 crore)

• Belaguda–Jhariput road (Estimated cost: ₹690 crore)

The incomplete roads have increased local hardships, with villagers struggling for daily commute.

Faulty DPRs and Manipulations Exposed

Experts attribute the delay to faulty or incomplete Detailed Project Reports (DPRs). In many cases, the information submitted is neither true nor transparent. For instance, the HL bridge over Dhanua river lacked a proper DPR initially. Later, the project cost was revised by nearly 20%, raising eyebrows.

There are also widespread manipulations in soil testing, deviation in design, and use of substandard material—a perfect recipe for corruption.

Lack of Supervision by Senior Officials

To add insult to injury, senior engineers and department officials fail to supervise the projects on ground. Instead, they are content with review meetings in their air-conditioned headquarters, with no accountability for the ground realities.

Call for Vigilance and EOW Probe

Experts and watchdogs are now demanding an urgent probe by Vigilance or the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Such a probe could unearth deep-rooted corruption and hold the guilty accountable in these multi-crore rural infrastructure projects.

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