Bhubaneswar/Kendrapada: Chief Secretary (CS) Manoj Ahuja on Tuesday chaired a high-level secretaries’ meeting at Kharavela Bhawan in Odisha capital.
According to sources, the meeting discussed several important issues including the implementation of various new schemes of the state government, filling up of vacant posts in different departments, provision of due retirement benefits and pension for government employees, and follow-up actions related to district visits and reviews by the secretaries.
Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretaries Satyabrata Sahu, Surendra Kumar and Hemant Sharma, along with principal secretaries, commissioners, and secretaries of various departments attended the meeting and participated in the discussions.
This came a day after Ahuja’s visit to Nagada hillock in Jajpur district’s Sukinda block, which grabbed headlines in 2016 followi
ng the death of 19 children of Juang tribal community due to malnutrition.
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 talked to villagers and inspected key development initiatives introduced by the state government to transform Nagada into a model tribal village. He also urged officials to hold regular health awareness camps while promoting livestock farming for tribal women under the Subhadra Yojana scheme.
“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,” an official release said.
The chief secretary interacted with beneficiaries of the ‘Mamata Yojana’ and asked officials to include all eligible individuals, who were previously left out.
He noted that the government has provided roads, water, solar lighting, and other amenities, announcing plans to repair roads and install streetlights from Kaliapani to Nagada within a month.
However, locals highlighted the lack of bus services since 2018, impacting access to healthcare and essential services.
Ahuja directed the collector to use District Mineral Fund resources to support tribal youths in acquiring auto-rickshaws and reinstating bus services. He also emphasised on protecting tribal rights under the Forest Right Act, ensuring proper execution of welfare schemes, and constructing water preservation ponds for year-round water availability.
He also asked the District Welfare Officer to reopen the village’s tribal hostel which had been closed for the last three years.