The Tripura Rural Economic Growth and Service Delivery Project (TRESP), a World Bank-aided initiative, is on track to be completed by 2029, with a focus on constructing over 416 km of all-season roads. This project aims to promote economic growth in rural areas, particularly in tribal regions.
Gajendra Verma, Chief Operating Officer of TRESP, provided an update on the progress of the project. He stated that out of the total road length, 71.49 km has already been completed, and construction is underway for an additional 133.41 km. Work orders have also been issued for another 133.41 km of road construction.
A significant portion of the project budget, over Rs 500 crore out of Rs 1,400 crore, has been allocated for road infrastructure development. Verma emphasized that the project will benefit 23 rural development blocks, including 11 ‘aspirational blocks’, and will include the construction of 12 school buildings in tribal areas to support human capital development.
Verma highlighted that the project will also provide training for teachers to enhance their skills and capacity. Additionally, TRESP aims to form producer groups under the Tripura Rural Livelihood Management (TRLM), with 2,000 groups already established out of a target of 2,500.
Furthermore, the project will introduce single-window services through app and web-based platforms to improve access to government schemes for the people. A study is underway to recommend IT solutions and government process re-engineering for the implementation of 144 services and schemes.
The project will collaborate with the Tripura Space Application Centre (TSAC) to integrate a dashboard system for mobile data collection, preparation, dissemination, and visualization. The World Bank is contributing approximately Rs 1,120 crore towards the project, which commenced in March last year.
