Jamshedpur, May 17: Chief minister Raghubar Das today laid the foundation of two double-lane road projects worth Rs 230-crore at Rangamati in Ichagarh block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, around 60km from the steel city.

The Rangamati-Silli (in Ranchi) double-lane road of over 37km would reduce the distance between Jamshedpur and Ramgarh by 20km and travel time by nearly an hour.

The Milan Chowk (Rangamati)-Adhardih double-lane road of 47.5km will link NH-32 (near Chandil) to Purulia district of Bengal. Both roads are expected to be completed in the next two years.

Speaking on the occasion, Das reiterated his government's commitment to ensure that the benefits of progress and development reached remote parts of the state.

"The government is committed to take development to the remotest part of the state and road connectivity is a necessary element of this. In this fiscal, the state government will construct 1,500km of road and 150 bridges. The other priority is to reach electricity to all households within three years," he said.

Das revealed that a detailed project report was being prepared for the repair of Sonahatu road in Tamar block and stressed that bureaucrats and police officers would now visit villages to understand local problems and take steps to solve them.

The chief minister said he was aware that village level health centres lacked doctors.

"The government is looking to provide three-year diploma courses in medicine to unemployed science graduates so that they cane be appointed at rural health centres that are unable to function properly due to lack of doctors," he said.

The chief minister said that the state government was focussed towards job creation. "We will be signing MoUs worth Rs 700 crore tomorrow. These projects would provide employment to 23,000 youths," Das said.