Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief secretary Manoj Ahuja visited Nagada village in Jajpur district and talked to Juang tribal families to know about the progress of the development initiatives undertaken by the government in the area, officials said Tuesday.
At least 19 children had died due to malnutrition in the hilltop village in July 2016. Ahuja, then as the nodal officer of a task force, had visited the village.
Accompanied by senior officials from various departments, including Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water secretary Girish SN and Jajpur district collector P Anvesha Reddy, the chief secretary visited the village Monday and talked to villagers and inspected key development initiatives.
Though a lot of development has been achieved since 2016, still a lot many needs urgent attention, an official accompanying Ahuja said, adding that the chief secretary has issued directions to the district administration to expedite completion of house construction under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
“As only sixty per cent of the houses were completed in a span of three years, Ahuja issued directions to concerned officials to ensure early completion of housing units,” an official statement said.
Information and Public Relations department in a post on X said: “Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, during his visit to Jajpur district, visited Nagada under Sukinda block to review the actual situation and developmental works. He inspected the under-construction Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, health services, women and child development, and drinking water supply projects. He visited the Upper Nagada Anganwadi centre and reviewed the ground zero situation.”
During interactions with beneficiaries of the ‘Mamata Yojana’ (a programme for pregnant and lactating women), the chief secretary asked officials to include all eligible individuals who were previously left out.
The chief secretary also inspected drinking water tanks and found their poor maintenance and asked the officials to stress on water conservation for the use of villagers during the summer.
Ahuja also asked the officials to expedite empowering farmers by allocating land ownership certificates under the Forest Rights Act. Similarly, found very few students attending schools and asked the officials to improve student attendance rates.
The Chief Secretary, during the visit found the village’s tribal hostel closed for the last three years. He asked the District Welfare Officer (DWO) to make immediate arrangements for its reopening.
PTI
