Foundation stone of Cuttack Municipal Corporation’s proposed art gallery, which was laid by chief minister Naveen Patnaik in 2011. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 5: Three years on, the proposed art gallery project of municipal corporation is yet to take off.

While the cost has escalated from Rs 90 lakh to over Rs 1.3 crore during this time, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) is in a fix due to the lack of funds.

The civic body had planned to set up the art gallery to display the culture and tradition of the city, and portray the lives of prominent people of the state on a proposal by the city-based Creative Artists Group. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone of the project near Saheed Bhavan on August 31, 2011.

“The art gallery project is a classic case of government apathy. No tangible progress has been made even after three years,” said Shasikant Rout, joint secretary of Creative Artists Group.

“The project was apparently taken up for development and preservation of art and to encourage local artists. But it is unfortunate that it has remained stuck on the drawing board for years,” said Gyana Rath, a noted cartoonist.

Though the corporation had initiated steps to start the project work by inviting expression of interest for the construction but the process remained stagnant due to lack of government approval of the bids finalised.

Official sources said the CMC had required tender values of Rs 62.30 lakh and Rs 68.60 lakh in 2012. But the government had not approved the bids received by the civic body.

The civic body had submitted bids thrice but the government had rejected them on all three occasions. The government did not approve because the bids were single in nature. “Now that the project cost has increased to more than a crore, efforts are being made to mobilise funds for it. We are trying to get funds sanctioned by the government under the special projects category,” municipal commissioner Gyanaranjan Das told The Telegraph. The CMC had not allocated any funds for the project in its annual budget. “We will invite fresh expression of interest for the construction of the art gallery soon after the funds are available,” Das said.