Construction of roads, culverts and buildings in Bastar division to ensure peace and security is the priority of this Government, said Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu, who holds Home and PWD departments. This Government has initiated many public welfare schemes along with a range of development works, Sahu said.

Home Minister Sahu told The Hitavada that Gadhbo Nawa Chhattisgarh is the motto of this Government. With proper implementation of the motto under

Bhupesh Baghel’s leadership, development works are gaining momentum in Chhattisgarh with economic and social empowerment. Keeping in view the geographical structure of Bastar region, construction of bridges and expansion of roads is being done continuously on a large scale to facilitate better movement of the people. Besides, construction of important administrative buildings, educational institutions and residential buildings are also being completed rapidly.

Sahu added that during his tenure in last two years, 112 roads, 19 bridges and 195 buildings have been completed, while construction work of 250 roads, 16 bridges and 26 buildings is in progress.

The work of 734 roads is proposed to be done in Bastar division. Out of which Rs 1191 crore has been sanctioned for 631 works. 129 works of bridges are proposed in Bastar division, out of which Rs 617 crore have been approved for 68 works. Among these, 37 works have been completed and 24 works are in progress. The construction of 14 bridges has been completed in the last two years. These mainly include bridges over Ganeshbahar River, Baru River, Markandi River, Geedam River, Chherribeda River, Shabari River, Jiramtarai rivulet, Banjarin rivulet and Kodripal Ghat, added Sahu.

Adding to this, Minister Tamradhwaj informed that in Bastar division, 819 building works are proposed for which Rs 1,260 crore has been approved for 736 works. Out of these, 443 works have been completed and 163 works are in progress.

The completed buildings mainly include, high school buildings, new ITI buildings, administrative and academic buildings, girls hostels in Livelihood Colleges, Government Higher Secondary School buildings, Mini-indoor stadiums, UMD bhawans, hostel buildings, fire station etc. In seven Naxal-affected districts of Bastar division i.e. Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Sukma as well as Rajnandgaon, Rs 3,867 crore have been sanctioned for 300 roads, including 278 roads and 22 bridges of length 334 km to be done under Centrally Sponsored Scheme i.e. Road Connectivity Plan in Left Wing Extremist affected areas (RCPLWE) in two phases. So far, 55 works (50 roads and 5 bridges) of length 1509 km costing Rs 1,864 crore have been completed and 232 works are in progress. Under this scheme, 109 works (94 roads and 15 bridges) have been approved for new works in the second phase”, added the Home Minister.