Bhubaneswar, Feb. 27: The council of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) today gave its nod to the proposal for establishment of a 250-bed multi-specialty hospital on the outskirts of the city, while approving the 2013-14 budget.

The hospital, to be built on a plot of five acres at Gadakana, will cater to areas such as Nandankanan, Raghunathpur, Patia, Damana, Mancheswar, Sailashree Vihar, Niladri Vihar, Chandrasekharpur, Jayadev Vihar and neighbouring areas.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank group, will be the transaction advisor in this project. “The IFC will estimate the amount needed to be invested for the hospital and the plan will also include a renovation of the existing BMC hospital at Old Town,” mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said.

Councillor of ward No. 7 Madan Majhi said: “There is no government-run health care institution in our area and people depend on private hospitals. When established, this hospital will be of much help to the local people.”

The council approved a budget of Rs 473.36 crore, which included a collection of Rs 225.99 crore from its own sources and Rs 200.45 crore as grant from the government and other agencies. BMC sources said Rs 28.62 crore was lying unspent from last year’s budgetary allocation.

Among the major projects to be carried out by the municipal corporation this year will include a multi-utility complex. The Rs 10-crore project will be financed solely by the corporation and no private party will be involved.

The corporation will invest Rs 5 crore on energy-efficient street lighting and Rs 10 crore on developing markets.

The other major allocations include Rs 13 crore for cement concrete roads, Rs 8 crore for community toilets, Rs 15 crore for 60 city buses and Rs 30 crore for houses for the urban poor under the Rajiv Awas Yojana.

“Two-and-a-half years ago, the monthly energy bill for street lighting in the BMC area was Rs 30 to Rs 35 lakh a month, but the figure is now between Rs 70 and 75 lakh. So we have decided to work on pilot projects to test light emitting diodes (LED) and timers to minimise the energy cost,” said a senior corporation official.

The council also approved floating of a national tender to privatise the solid waste management in 53 wards in the city. There will be four zones for solid waste management in the city.