The construction of new roads in tribal areas under the name of ‘Adavi Thalli Bata’ should be expedited, and once the work is completed, better road facilities will be provided to 625 tribal habitations, said Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Forest Environment Pawan Kalyan.
He asks officials to ensure continuous monitoring of the construction of roads undertaken by the state government, and a departmental review should be conducted once in two weeks and a report should be submitted on the progress of construction.
Pawan Kalyan held a teleconference with the Principal Secretary, Commissioner, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Engineering officials on the status of road works in tribal areas. Along with the PM Jan Man scheme, the NREGS and sub-plan funds, the construction of roads in tribal areas has been undertaken with a total of Rs. 1005 crore.
In the two-phased work called Adivasi Thalli Bata, plans have been prepared to build roads to connect tribal settlements that have not had road facilities since independence. Officials explained the progress of these works and the challenges and obstacles faced in speeding up the work.
They said that it is taking a long time to move forward by laying boulders to design a new road connecting the settlements on the hills. Similarly, they said that since the areas are steep, many precautions are being taken in the construction of the roads. They explained that the speed of the work should not be slowed down due to the current rains.
The officials said that since 128 roads are in the reserve forest area, forest permissions have been sought for 98 roads, they said. So far, 186 works have been undertaken, while another 20 works are in the tender stage. They said that the technical evaluation process is underway.
Pawan Kalyan said, “The coalition government led by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is moving forward with the goal of having doli-free tribal habitats. The Central Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has allocated Rs. 555.6 crores through the PM Jan Man scheme and provided support. Similarly, we are utilizing the funds of the NREGS”. Since there are so many opportunities, he said that the authorities should focus special attention on the work of the forest mother path.
