Bhubaneswar, July 13: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has decided to set up five zonal offices for better governance and convenience of residents.

The BMC has identified Chandrasekharpur Kalyan Mandap (north), Kapilprasad Community Centre (south), Jharpada Community Centre (east), Rental Colony Community Centre (west) and Gopabandhu Nagar Community Centre (central) as its temporary zonal offices.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the offices were likely to start functioning from August 31, the Local Self-Government Day. One assistant municipal commissioner will manage each zonal office.

“We have initiated a process for deploying adequate manpower to manage the zonal offices. This will help the residents because they do not have to run to the present head office every time,” said Jena. At present, the BMC functions from its Kalpana Square office.

The BMC is also planning to expand its head office. It also has four separate buildings that house engineering, tax and e-governance wings.

The health wing of the BMC functions from a building near PMG Square, which is about five kilometres away from the main office. About 2,000 people work for the corporation. Earlier, the BMC had also constituted a committee to decide on the deployment of manpower and operationalisation of the five proposed zonal offices. The committee had submitted a report for requirement of computer, furniture and vehicles for each of the proposed zonal offices.

Sources in the BMC said it would soon find its place among the elite civic bodies of the country, such as those of Nagpur, Ludhiana and Thiruvananthapuram, who already have a zonal plan.

“We have to visit the office at Kalpana Square for each and every civic issue. As a result, the office always remains crowded. But if the zonal offices come up, we would no more have to go a long distance to the head office with our problems,” said Gangadhar Behera, a resident of Chandrasekharpur.