Saturday, 02 July 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Due to the organisational structure of the Rural Works Department (RWD) being like the other engineering departments, the authorities are considering amending the construction works expenditure limit from Rs 15 crore to unlimited. As the RWD is undertaking construction works of other non-engineering departments, the authorities are also thinking about making it the executing agency of such non-engineering departments. The Rural Works, Panchayati Raj, Public Works, Tourism and Irrigation minister Satpal Maharaj said this while speaking at a function held to mark the golden jubilee of the department here on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, Maharaj said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
leadership of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the RWD is undertaking high quality construction of residential and non-residential buildings of various departments along with other construction works in the State. The minister recalled that RWD was established in Uttar Pradesh during 1972 as Rural Engineering Service department. The main aim behind establishing the department was to facilitate basic facilities to the general public in rural and inaccessible areas. The department is undertaking small construction works in remote areas including construction of bridle paths, Anganwadi buildings, health sub-centres and Patwari posts while on the other hand school buildings, Tehsil buildings, block office buildings, Vikas Bhawan, community health centre and residential and non-residential buildings of the police department are also being constructed by the department. He said that during the previous year, the RWD undertook a total of 5,577 construction works across the State. For the Kumbh Mela 2021 in Haridwar, the construction of the four-storied police, CPMF transit hostel building was completed in a record time of four and a half months. The minister further informed that construction of 201 rural motor roads totaling in length to about 386 kilometres with funds from NABARD and State plan was completed. This benefitted a population of 1,54,993 in 314 villages.
He said that it is essential to increase the work capacity of the department to ensure swift completion of the government’s schemes in public interest. Considering this, attempts are being made to reorganise the department.
Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’, RWD secretary Nitesh Jha, chief engineer and head of department Ajay Kumar Pant among others were also present in the programme.
