Chhapra, Jan. 10: Residents of the town, who struggle with poor civic facilities and infrastructure every day, could be citizens of a well-developed and beautiful city, only if they are patient with the metamorphosis plan.

The state urban development department has prepared a city improvement plan for Chhapra which will take more than 15 years to be completed.

The project is supposed to be implemented in three phases. In the first phase, Rs 78 crore will be spent to improve the traffic system, including road construction and other facilities. The work was supposed to begin last year but nothing has been done till date. In fact, the office of the district urban development authority, which is supposed to implement the project, is not yet fully functional.

An official of the authority told The Telegraph: “This unit is not yet fully functional. Three engineers joined some days ago. We know about the urban development project for Chhapra but have not received any funds to implement it yet.”

The district authorities and citizens are, however, hopeful that their hometown will soon benefit from some aspects of the ambitious plan.

District magistrate Vinay Kumar told The Telegraph: “The state urban development department has come up with this project and are taking steps to implement it. The office of the district urban development authority is being strengthened.”

Devendra Kumar, a businessman, said: “It is good that such initiatives are being taken. Let us hope that it turns into reality. It would be a dream come true for us.”

The project has the scope of transforming Chhapra into dreamscape.

In the second phase, scheduled from 2016 to 2021, Rs 277.79 crore will be spent to improve sanitation and drinking water facilities. Drainage systems would be improved and clean drinking water would be provided to the residents.

The third phase, supposed to continue till 2030, will concentrate on social infrastructure. Around Rs 254.8 crore will be spent on social infrastructure like schools, park and auditoria. The project also focuses on better power supply to the town.

Many citizens are, however, sceptical about how much of this project would see the light of day.

Dr Mukesh Srivastav, a resident, said: “Many projects are languishing and this one is yet to take off. If only 20 per cent of the project is completed, it will be a great relief. But we fear this project will only help bureaucrats plunder funds.”