“I am heading a Committee of Ministers-related to the construction work. We decided that apart from road construction, projects related to urban development, or water works can be started in districts which do not fall under the red zone. “We followed all protocols related to health safety...we provided masks, sanitisers on the site to the workers. We used thermal scanning to identify any suspected carrier of COVID. The construction at various sites is now in full swing. Despite a difficult situation these decisions are bearing good results,” Maurya, who holds the important portfolio of PWD, said. Replying to a question on community kitchens being run by PWD across the state, he said that a decision by PWD employees was taken to serve the poor during the lockdown. “I requested our staff that we should do something for the underprivileged who have been finding it difficult to feed their families. Within days, the PWD employees decided to start serving food, ration to the needy. Gradually such community kitchens started operating in all the 75 districts,” he added.

When asked how many people were being provided food daily at these kitchens, Maurya replied, “It is a good work done by the state employees. However, serving the poor is more important than counting their numbers.”

For Deputy CM Maurya, who is undoubtedly the most popular face of BJP after Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, bringing back migrant labourers from every corner of the country is a priority.