Strengthening Transport Ecosystem with Multimodal Transport Connectivity is State Govt’s Priority: C&T Minister 

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has envisioned a “New Odisha – Empowered & Progressive Odisha” where the transport sector is the herald of growth, prosperity and welfare of the people of the state. To materialise the vision, the state government have brought all modes of transportation i.e., road, rail, water and civil aviation under the purview of Commerce & Transport Department, said Tukuni Sahu, Minister Commerce and Transport while addressing the Press today at Geeta Gobinda Sadan. .

Giving a brief note on the Budget 2023-24, the Minister said that strengthening the transport ecosystem with provision of assured, seamless, and multimodal transport connectivity across the state and beyond is the priority of State Government. Similarly, rail connectivity to all districts, resilient Port-led developments to make Odisha one of the strongest maritime states in our country are the focused area of the Government. State Government is taking strategic approach with multi-stakeholder and sector contribution to reduce road accidents and casualties with improvement of intra-state regional connectivity with air transport.

For the smooth transportation of Civil Aviation Section, Motor Vehicle Section, Logistics Section & to facilitate the private developers for development of non-major ports, C&T Department has launched 4 policies in the Make in Odisha Conclave-2022. These includes Odisha Civil Aviation Policy 2022, Odisha Motor Vehicles (Registration & Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF)) Policy-2022, Odisha Logistics Policy 2022 and Odisha Port Policy 2022.

Highlighting the key achievements of C&T Department, she said that Odisha has been ranked as “Achiever” (with >90% score) among the coastal states of India in the “Logistics Ease Across Different States” (LEADS) Index – 2022. In addition, Odisha has been ranked as ‘High Performer’ with 67.3% for implementing road safety measures as per the audit report of the agency engaged by the “Supreme Court committee on Road Safety”. Until February 2023 Rs. 1887.48 crore have been collected which is over 30% as compared to the same period of last year. Several students including the PWD of different institutes were air-transported to watch Men’s Hockey World Cup matches held at Rourkela. Many of them enjoyed flying experience for the first time, the Minister added.

Usha Padhee, Principal Secretary to Commerce and Transport Department said that a new scheme “Location accessible multimodal initiative (LACCMI)” to facilitate assured and affordable transportation for the people across the state. To provide first and last mile connectivity across the state & seamless intermodal connecting services for stage carriage buses, railway stations, commercial centres, healthcare centres and educational institutions, a sum of Rs.100 crore is being proposed. Apart from this, to provide subsidy to the beneficiaries for the purchase of electric vehicles a sum of Rs.25 crore has been allocated for the financial year 2023-24.

For Commuter’s safety, Rs. 156 crore has been proposed for operation and management of four (04) IDTRs, establishment of ATS & Truck Terminals, Grant-in-Aid to the State Road Safety Fund & Safety equipment (lifebuoys & life jackets) for IWT-based commuters. For Aviation, Rs. 325 crore has been allotted for Construction of Aerodromes, VGF subsidy under UDAN Scheme & the transformation of Biju Patnaik Aerospace Academy at Birasal, Dhenkanal into a world-class pilot training center, with an annual capacity of 500 pilots.

For Railways, Rs. 360 crore has been earmarked for Development of Railway projects & State contribution to SPVs formed for development of key railway projects. For OSRTC, Rs. 210 crore has been proposed for, construction of Ama Bus Stands Phase-I & II and Fleet augmentation and specialised service offerings, infrastructure augmentation for ITMS implementation, elaborated Padhee.

Surendranath Parida, Director (Technical), I&PR coordinated the Press Conference. Senior Officials from Commerce and Transport Department and media personnel were present in the press meet.