Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Sadak Suraksha Yojana Samman’ on Monday and introduced a new alert bell system at the accident-prone Kalinga Ghat, marking a major expansion of the state’s road safety framework.
Speaking at an event for National Road Safety Month, CM Majhi declared that road safety is now officially integrated into the state’s “good governance” agenda. “I hope that with this, government officials will be more vigilant about it,” he expressed.
The new Samman scheme is designed to recognise and honour districts, educational institutions and private organisations for their proactive contributions to road safety.
The Chief Minister emphasised that high-performing districts will receive rewards, while those failing to meet safety standards will be held strictly accountable.
A historic day for Road Safety & Infrastructure Development in Odisha.
Under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri @MohanMOdisha, multiple citizen-centric initiatives were launched:
✔️ ‘Mukhyamantri Road Safety Yojana Samman’ launched
✔️ Road Safety adopted as a key… pic.twitter.com/sJG03leWVF— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) January 12, 2026
CM Majhi noted that while the state has been focusing on the four ‘E’s of road safety—Education, Enforcement, Engineering (strengthening safety systems by applying advanced engineering techniques in communication infrastructure and vehicles), and Emergency (ensuring rapid medical care)—he is expanding the scope of this mission by adding two more E’s: Environment and Evaluation.
He called for stricter adherence to vehicle emission standards and advocated for a rigorous rating system to measure the effectiveness of current safety regulations. The CM said various road safety programmes can be changed or further improved based on this rating.
As part of the initiative, the CM inaugurated a pilot warning bell system at Kalinga Ghat on the Ganjam-Kandhamal border, designed to alert drivers approaching from both directions to help prevent collisions on the treacherous stretch.
Apart from this, an MoU was signed with IIT Kharagpur for better traffic management in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
The Chief Minister also opened 15 new electric vehicle charging stations in Bhubaneswar, noting that an additional 85 stations are currently being installed throughout Odisha.
In a boost to public transit, CM Majhi inaugurated 14 Atal Bus Stands across 10 districts—a project totalling Rs 156.53 crore—and launched 100 modern, BS-6 compliant buses worth Rs 46 crore to replace aging fleet vehicles.
Additionally, the CM introduced the ‘Closed Loop Smart Transit Card,’ a cashless payment system for state-run buses intended to provide passengers with a more seamless and convenient travel experience.
The CM also flagged off 25 new e-buses for Berhampur city.
