The garbage dumped at the plot earmarked for a mall at Buddha Colony in Patna. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Oct. 9: Ten months have passed since Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) had proposed construction of a swanky shopping mall on a three-acre plot in the posh Buddha Colony on public private partnership mode. But the land near BD Public School continues to be a garbage dumping ground.

The residents of Buddha Colony and the neighbouring areas complain that the stink emanating from the heap of garbage has made life difficult for them.

“It is a nightmare for us. For years, people have been using the vacant plot as a dumping ground. Pigs feed on solid waste. We have written several letters to PMC officials to get the area cleaned, but in vain. When it rains, the stench becomes unbearable. It is difficult for us to even walk out of our home,” Jeevan Yadav, a schoolteacher whose house is barely 50m from the plot, said.

Jyoti Chaudhary, another Buddha Colony resident, said: “At a time when land prices are skyrocketing in the capital, it is surprising that PMC is not utilising such a big plot. While dumping of garbage in the empty plot causes much inconvenience for us, the property located in a prime area continues to be unutilised.”

When contacted, mayor Afzal Imam put the onus for the residents’ inconvenience on PMC executives. “During the tenure of the last PMC commissioner, Manish Kumar, the civic body board had approved the proposal to construct a shopping mall in the area. But after Kumar’s transfer, the plan never took off.”

On the other hand, the proposed Chandralok Commercial Complex at Bakri Bazaar near GPO roundabout, the plot for which was handed over to the corporation by Patna High Court after years of legal tussle with encroachers, is also yet to come up despite a nod from the civic body.

According to sources in the corporation, PMC holds the ownership right of at least 400 acres worth Rs 2,500 crore in some prime localities of the city. But several acres — scattered across the corporation area — are either vacant or are in the clutches of land mafia.

The sources said if the corporation could retrieve the plots from the clutches of the land mafia and use them for residential and commercial projects, it would benefit thousands of people and the property would be affordable for many.

In January, a private consultant was appointed to carry out a survey on land available with the corporation. No report of the study was, however, submitted to the civic body.

There have been allegations that PMC’s land has often been usurped by land sharks in connivance with a number of corporation officials, developers and political leaders. In many cases, makeshift houses, slums, illegal markets and residential colonies have come up on PMC land and officials have allegedly not taken any action.