Bhubaneswar, December 12: Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Rural Development Minister Rabi Narayan Naik on Friday issued a strong warning to contractors and agencies over drinking water project delays.

He called for registration of FIR on those agencies for resorting to inordinate delay in completing the project. He said that the errant agencies will be blacklisted if required.

Chairing a review meeting on the final day of the three-day State-level review meeting on mega rural piped drinking water supply projects in Bhubaneswar, the Minister also directed concerned department officials to keep a close watch on the agencies and ensure timely completion of the drinking water projects.

The review meeting, from December 10 to 12, covered major rural piped water supply projects implemented under all 35 RWS&S Divisions across the three Revenue Divisions of Odisha.

“The Minister took a serious view of project delays and issued strict instructions to all implementing agencies. He categorically warned that any agency failing to complete projects within the stipulated timeline will be blacklisted and FIRs will be lodged. He emphasised that accountability in execution is non-negotiable, given the importance of clean drinking water for rural households,” said an official release.

On the first day, the Minister reviewed 68 major piped drinking water projects under 12 RWS&S Divisions of the Central Revenue Division namely Athagarh, Balasore, Baripada, Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Nayagarh, Puri and Rairangpur. Of these, 8 projects have been completed and commissioned, while 60 ongoing projects were reviewed in detailed.

On the second day, the review covered 77 major projects under 14 RWS&S Divisions of the Northern Revenue Division namely Anandpur, Angul, Balangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Nuapada, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Sonepur, and Sundergarh. Out of these, 14 projects are completed and operational, while 63 ongoing projects were reviewed and timeline has been fixed for completion of these projects.

On the final day, 62 major projects under 9 divisions of the Southern Revenue Division namely Gajapati, Berhampur, Bhanjanagar, Kalahandi, Phulbani, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Rayagada were reviewed. Among these, 3 projects have been completed, and 59 under-construction projects were reviewed.

Across the three days, a total of 207 projects completed as well as on going were reviewed. The implementing agencies and departmental officers presented detailed technical, financial, and operational updates to Hon’ble Minister. He personally reviewed the responsibility matrix for each project, sought explanations for delays, and directed focused corrective measures.

Panchayati Raj Secretary S.N. Girish, Director- Drinking Water, Vinit Bhardwaj, EIC- RWSS Ratnakar Sial, all the SEs, EEs of various RWS&S Divisions, officials of the department and representatives of various construction agencies.