Find an alternative to asphalt amid global crisis, improve road conditions: Industry Minister Shri Lakhanlal Dewangan

Industry Minister Shri Lakhanlal Dewangan reviewed the works of the Municipal Corporation. Raipur, May 18, 2026 / Commerce, Industry, Public Undertakings, Excise and Labor Minister Shri Lakhanlal Dewangan, while giving directions to the officials today, said that due to the unavailability of asphalt resulting from the circumstances arising from the war in the Middle East, road asphalting work could not be started, even though the funds were approved and tender and other procedures were completed long ago. Therefore, find an alternative way through high-level discussions and improve the condition of the roads. He told the officials to compulsorily complete the construction of drains and culverts before the monsoon, to bring the expected speed in development works and to take strict action against the construction agencies that are showing negligence in their work, and to blacklist them. Industry Minister Shri Lakhanlal Dewangan gave the above directions to the officials during a review meeting of development works held in Korba today. Minister Shri Dewangan today held a meeting with the officials and ward councilors of Kosabadi, Pt. Ravishankar Nagar and Balco zones of Municipal Corporation Korba and reviewed the development works of the 28 wards of these three zones ward-wise. During the meeting, Mayor Mrs. Sanjudevi Rajput, Commissioner Shri Ashutosh Pandey, Chairman Shri Nootan Singh Thakur, senior councilor Shri Narendra Dewangan, Ashok Chawlani and other ward councilors were present. Taking the arrival of the rainy season and the inability to asphalt the roads seriously, Industry Minister Shri Dewangan directed the officials, saying that there are not many days left for the monsoon to arrive. Approval for asphalting of all major roads in the corporation area was received long ago, tender and other procedures have also been completed, and work orders have also been issued. However, due to the war in the Middle East, there is a shortage of asphalt everywhere, due to which the asphalting work of roads in Korba is also stalled. Guiding the officials, he said that they should discuss at a high level and find an alternative way to repair the city roads so that the city dwellers do not have to face difficulties in commuting during the upcoming monsoon. While reviewing the ward-wise progress of uninitiated development works, Industry Minister Shri Dewangan gave strict instructions to the officials to issue notices to the concerned construction agencies and start the works soon. Similarly, during the review of ongoing development works, it came to light that some works are stalled in the middle. On this, Industry Minister Shri Dewangan took a strict stance and directed the officials to issue notices to the concerned construction agencies to start work, and if they still do not start the work, then take action to confiscate their deposited earnest money and blacklist them. Industry Minister Shri Dewangan told the officials that during the execution of development and construction works, the concerned engineers should continuously monitor the works, pay special attention to quality, and finally ensure that the development works are executed with full quality and that the materials used in the work conform to the prescribed standards. *Reviewed ward-wise, instructed to speed up works* During the meeting, Industry Minister Shri Dewangan reviewed the progress of works in the wards of Kosabadi, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla Nagar and Balco zones under various funds, including District Mineral Trust Fund, Infrastructure, Finance Commission Fund, Central Region Tribal Development Authority, Revenue and Disaster Management, Guardian Minister Fund, MLA Fund, CSR Fund, Mayor Fund, Councilor Fund, Corporation Fund, etc. These works include CC road construction, drain construction, community buildings, public sheds, school buildings, Anganwadis, kitchen sheds, boundary walls, toilet construction, up-gradation of sub-health centers, construction of additional classrooms, platforms, cultural stages, culverts, cremation ghats, pond deepening, cattle shed renovation, waiting sheds, drinking water supply related works, and electricity extension and street light related works. He instructed to speed up the progress of these works. *Reviewed drinking water supply and street light related works* During the meeting, Industry Minister Shri Dewangan reviewed the progress of drinking water supply system and street light related works. He instructed the officials to ensure uninterrupted and timely supply of drinking water in all ward settlements. If the water supply is disrupted in any ward or settlement due to power outage, leakage of pipelines, or any other reason, water should be immediately supplied through tankers so that the citizens do not have to face drinking water problems in this rising heat. Industry Minister Shri Dewangan also directed the officials to speed up the work of installing new street lights by the corporation and to carry out the work simultaneously in all the wards where street lights are being installed. *Bring more rigor to sanitation works* During the meeting, Industry Minister Shri Lakhanlal Dewangan reviewed the sanitation system and ongoing cleaning works in the 28 wards of the said three zones and directed the Health Officer to bring more rigor to the sanitation works. He said that in the Swachh Survekshan last year, our Korba had secured the 8th position in the country in sanitation ranking. We all have to work harder in this direction so that our Korba comes number 1 in the country and the pride of Chhattisgarh state and Urjanagari Korba increases. *Ensure strict compliance with the instructions given in the review meeting* On this occasion, Mayor Mrs. Sanjudevi Rajput directed the corporation officials to ensure strict compliance with the instructions given during the review meeting. She said that along with speeding up the progress of works related to development and construction, civic services and facilities, special focus should be on the problems and complaints of the general public and the received complaints should be resolved within the stipulated time. During this, councilors and MIC members Hitanand Agarwal, Chandralok Singh, Ajay Gond, Chandrakali Jaiswal, Mamta Yadav, Pankaj Dewangan, Rakesh Verma, Pratap Singh Kanwar, Dhankumari Garg, Abdul Rehman, Sunita Chauhan, Varsha Dinesh Vaishnav, Simranjeet Kaur, Satyendra Dubey, Seema Kanwar, Chanda Devi, Chetan Singh Maitri, Mangalram Bandhe, Tarun Singh Rathore, Rajat Khunte, Additional Commissioner Vinay Mishra, Superintendent Engineer Suresh Barua, Zone Commissioners Bhushan Uraon, Pawan Verma, N.K. Nath, Health Officer Dr. Sanjay Tiwari, Corporation Secretary Rameshwar Singh Kanwar, etc., were present.