Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 14: Following the death of 19 children due to malnourishment at Nagada in Jajpur district, the state government has woken up from its slumber and directed the departments concerned to indentify all unconnected villages in the state within three months.
Chairing a meeting of all the secretaries here Wednesday, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi directed them to focus on mapping of the requirements for connecting the unconnected villages and habitations on a priority basis.
He asked the secretaries to prioritise road connectivity in the first phase and complete identification of the unconnected villages within two/three months. It was decided to follow the methods of space technology with GIS mapping and ground level survey to connect the cut-off villages.
A committee headed by development commissioner R Balakrishnan was formed to have a close monitoring on the progress.
The other members of the panel are secretaries of rural development, forest and environment and ST/SC development departments, chief executive officer of Orissa Space Application Center (OSAC).
Balakrishnan said district-level committees led by the respective collectors would look into the ground reality of the data availed through remote sensing and would determine the nature of the gap in connectivity.
The meeting deliberated on the connectivity on account of approach road and service delivery.
The degree and steepness of slope to the unconnected habitations in hilly tracks should also be taken into consideration while identifying these villages so that appropriate method can be adopted to ensure proper connectivity, he added.
Disposal of the applications received through e-abhijoga (online grievances) system also figured in the meeting.
General administration special secretary Ashok Kumar Meena informed the meeting that 34,613 grievances have been received through various departments so far, of which more than 60 per cent have been disposed of and relief has been provided. The remaining applications are at various levels of examination, Meena added.
Considering the inputs given by various departments, Padhi directed the officials to revive and customise the system for reflecting the receipt and disposal position on a real-time basis.
Notably, lack of connectivity is touted as the main reason behind failure of the administration and government benefits to reach Nagada where the kids died.
