Nabarangpur: The District-Level Development, Coordination, and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting was held on Thursday at the Mission Shakti Meeting Hall under the chairmanship of MP Balabhadra Majhi. Key discussions revolved around healthcare, education, drinking water, PMGSY roads, housing construction, and the agriculture sector.
The meeting was attended by the District Collector, public representatives, administrative officers, and others.
MP Majhi directed that a road be constructed with a 3G pipe-laying diversion over the Jatabal bridge. He instructed that before road construction, meetings should be held with the drinking water, forest, and revenue departments. A total of 66 RG roads have been transferred to the road and housing department. The Rural Works Department submitted a budget report of ₹19 crore for various road construction projects. Out of 1,550 km of roads, 239 km are still incomplete, informed the executive engineer. It was reported that bridges in Badagumuda, Ghataguda, and Nakatiguda have been damaged.
In Dengaguda panchayat, the Anganwadi center in Telangaguda, its tube well, and electric connection were reported damaged due to the Bharatmala road project, as raised by a local MLA. Roads built under the Biju KBK grants have deteriorated due to lack of repair, and a demand was made to renovate them. A complaint was raised regarding waterlogging during the rains in the municipal area of Nabarangpur, from Sadashiv Tripathy Park to Nuabandh Sahi, due to lack of drainage.
The Mega Drinking Water Supply project was ordered to be completed soon. Although approval has been given for the drilling of 1,100 tube wells, MLA Gaurishankar Majhi demanded that tube wells be immediately opened in the needy villages. A lift irrigation project with a solar-powered deep bore well for one hectare of land has already been tendered, and work has begun as per departmental sources.
District Collector Subhankar Mahapatra had recommended that B.Ed. courses be made available in Nabarangpur. District Education Officer Chhatrapati Sahu informed that letters have been sent to the government regarding reopening of 13 closed schools. It was also stated that ₹3 crore has been approved under CSR funds for the establishment of an e-library.
Although the district requires 87,000 metric tons of fertilizer, only 53,000 metric tons have been received so far. Despite the availability of seeds for early paddy and ginger cultivation, there has been no proper awareness or promotion, and local representatives remain unaware, said Dabugaon MLA Manohar Randhari. Under the PM Irrigation Scheme, 1,348 hectares of farmland have been irrigated.
CDMO Santosh Kumar Panda spoke on essential healthcare needs. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, 2.65 lakh health cards have been distributed. The District Collector advised prioritizing land allotment and identification under land settlement (pattas) for forest land.
Among others present at the meeting were MLA Mujibullah Khan, Jharigaon MLA Narsingha Itara, District Panchayat Chief Development Officer Biranchi Narayan Darwan, Minister’s representative Ramesh Sahu, block chairpersons, sarpanches, Zilla Parishad members, and other district-level officers. The meeting was coordinated by District Collector Mahapatra.