Chief Minister Hemant Soren reprimanded the officials in the review meeting of the road construction department.

Ranchi, Jharkhand:- Chief Minister Hemant Soren, while presiding over the high-level review meeting of the Road Construction Department in the Jharkhand Ministry, gave strict instructions to the departmental officers to complete the pending projects in a time bound manner. He clearly said that any kind of negligence, unnecessary delay or compromise on quality in construction works will not be tolerated.

If the works are not completed within the stipulated time limit, departmental action will be taken against the concerned officers and agencies. In the meeting, departmental officials gave a detailed presentation of the under construction and completed projects related to roads, flyovers, overbridges and bridges during the last five years. While taking a close look at the progress of all the projects, the Chief Minister expressed displeasure over the delay in the works and said that it is the primary responsibility of the department to complete all the schemes within the stipulated time limit.

■ Database and geo-tagging will be mandatory for every project

The Chief Minister directed the Road Construction Department to prepare an updated and well-organized database of all the projects in the state and ensure geo-tagging of each project. He said that clear records of cost, progress, timeline and current status of every project should be available, so that the monitoring system can become more effective and transparent. He said that geo-tagging will increase accountability and the actual status of works can be easily reviewed.

■ Immediate action should be taken on complaints received in social media and media.

The Chief Minister said that he is continuously receiving complaints through social media, print media and electronic media about poor condition of roads, potholes, waterlogging and irregularities in construction works. He directed the officers to take all such complaints seriously and take immediate action and also keep an updated record of their resolution. He said that bad roads cause accidents during the rainy season. Therefore, immediate repair of potholes, proper drainage system and improvement in the quality of roads should be given top priority. Also directed to pay special attention to widening and strengthening of narrow roads.

■ Instructions to complete major projects in two months

Expressing dissatisfaction over the slow progress of under-construction road, flyover and culvert projects, the Chief Minister said that many important projects of the state are lying incomplete for years, due to which the common people are facing a lot of trouble. He directed to complete the major projects pending in other districts of the state including the capital Ranchi on priority basis within the next two months. He clearly warned that if the works were not completed within the stipulated time limit, strict departmental action would be taken against the concerned officials and construction agencies.

■ Special emphasis on quality and regular monitoring

The Chief Minister also reviewed other new projects including the Solar Cycle Track and directed to ensure quality, strength and timeliness in all construction works. He laid special emphasis on strengthening the banks of bridges, making better drainage arrangements and regular monitoring of each project. Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar, Road Construction Department Secretary Sunil Kumar, Engineer Chief Praveen Jayant Bhengra and senior officials of the department were present in the meeting.