Bhubaneswar, Aug. 21: Residents here are all too familiar with the disappointment of civic body's much-hyped promises not bearing fruit.
Every year, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation observes Local Self-Government Day on August 31. On the occasion, promises are made, foundation stones are laid and welfares and citizen-centric projects are inaugurated. And more often than not, they fail to deliver.
During last year's celebr-ations, the civic body promised more open and green spaces for citizen's recreational activities. Accordingly, it had laid foundation stones to develop six parks across the city, to be executed under the ambitious Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme.
A year has passed and the civic body is preparing for another grand celebration. But The Telegraph has found that the parks promised last year are nowhere near completion.
The civic body has awarded the contract for development of the three proposed parks at Sailashree Vihar, Niladri Vihar and Kanan Vihar to a contractor. Sources said the job had been given to a single contractor as civic officials felt that it would ensure uniformity and timely completion.
At the time of announcing the proposal, the civic body had set a one-year deadline for the projects to be completed. However, delay in the tender process, which was finalised in February, forced the civic body to extend the deadline to September. Work began in March, but apart from re-constructing the boundary walls, there have been no development. Work is now on to lay the pathway at these parks.
Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena assured that despite delay in the tender process, the contractor would meet the September deadline.
"We had some problems in the beginning, but now the work is going on smoothly. It will be over before the deadline," said Jena, adding the contractor would be penalised if he failed to hand over the project on time.
Sailashree Vihar residents, however, have a different take. "We were assured that the facility would be ready in a year. That deadline ends this month, but looking at the pace of work it seems that it will take another year. The civic body is playing the blind game and only making promises," said Narayan Ojha, a local resident.
Last year, the civic body laid foundation stones for three parks at Madhusudan Nagar, GGP Colony and Bhimtangi. Sources said while the tender for the parks at Bhimtangi and Madhusudan Nagar had been finalised, the one at GGP Colony was still awaiting a contractor. Work on the Bhimtangi and Madhusudan Nagar parks have also been negligible.
A senior civic official said there were plans to develop 17 parks under Amrut in the next three years. "Development has reached the halfway point on five parks, while work on another eight will begin in a month or two. We have to follow a process while executing such projects. Sometimes such projects miss the deadlines by a month or two due to administrative reasons," he said.
GGP Colony resident Sanjay Maharana said the civic body, instead of making bold and vague statements, should come up with a mechanism to finish the work on time.
"Instead of biting off more than it can chew, it should take up a few jobs in order to complete those on time. It is irrelevant to make such promises and then back away," said Maharana, a retired schoolteacher.
The civic body will spend Rs 51 lakh for the renovation of the park at Sailashree Vihar, while the ones at Kanan Vihar and Niladri Vihar will cost Rs 52 lakh and Rs 32 lakh, respectively. Development of the parks at GGP Colony, Bhimtangi and Madhusudan Nagar will cost Rs 10 lakh each.
Once completed, these parks will see an overall development, including provisions for benches, jogging path, lights, play area for children, paved-tile platforms for differently-abled and a skating rink. The civic body also plans to set up open gyms at the proposed parks.
