Bhubaneswar, April 10: Officials of several departments of the municipal corporation will now visit a mall every day - not to watch a movie or shop, but to work.
The planning, land, recovery and enforcement and corporation assets departments of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation have finally shifted to the BMC-Bhawani Mall at Saheed Nagar from the corporation office at Gautam Nagar.
The court dealing with the Odisha Development Authority (ODA) Act, 1982, which was earlier located on the premises of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, has also moved to the mall.
Relocation of these offices had been overdue for long. On the new premises, there are 15 chambers for officers and 16 cubicles for staff members. A court for ODA case hearing has also been set up near the entrance.
There will be parking at the basement and rooftop of the building. The corporation has obtained its share from the project.
"The BMC-Bhawani Mall has already become a major landmark in the city. It has emerged as a major entertainment hub with the first multiplex and is also home to many branded outlets, including the food joints. Opening of the civic body's planning and other wings will definitely add more importance to the complex," said Sujata Rath, a faculty member of a city-based management college.
The mall, built in the public-private partnership between the corporation and one Bhawani Constructions, was opened in 2012.
It had 72,000sqft office space allocated for the civic body. However, the corporation was unable to either sell or rent out the property.
Last year, the corporation council passed a resolution only to give the property on rent.
While the corporation office premises are housed across 7,000sqft, another 3,000-sqft area has been given on rent to Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC).
"As the corporation is a public office, people coming here will use the basement parking free of charge. We are yet to decide on the modalities of the rooftop parking as it will involve consumption of a lot of power because the cars have to be lifted up and brought down by an elevator," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
The civic body and its PPP partner will share the power bill for the rooftop parking.
Municipal commissioner Krishan Kumar said: "We are also planning to open the office of the National Health Mission here as the civic body is also working as a nodal agency for better upkeep of urban health, especially in the city slums."
City engineer B.K. Parida said: "We have given the office space on rent to the ONGC with a rate of Rs 38 per sqft. We hope to get this rate from other applicants for this prime property. We are going to issue tenders in this regard shortly."
