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| (Top to bottom) Beautification drive of Ring Road lies in an incomplete stage, and the foundation stones laid last year to build an art gallery and a vending zone are yet to come up. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das |
Cuttack, Aug. 30: The local civic body has once again drawn flak for being unable to implement various urban development projects in the city on time.
Of the various programmes that have either remained a non-starter or are running late, the much-awaited integrated sanitation project involving state-of-the-art drainage and sewerage system, to be financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is making tardy progress.
On the eve of Local Self-Governance Day, the CPI(M) today alleged that though the project was earlier targeted to begin in 2007-08 and completed by 2014, Cuttack Municipal Corporation had hardly been able to make any progress in the project so far.
“The Rs 754.44-crore integrated sanitation project for revival of drainage and sewerage systems in the city is yet to take off. Though the state government has provided 30 per cent of the project cost, the tender process has not yet been completed,” said CPI(M) Cuttack district secretary Subhash Singh.
He added that even the foundation stone for the Jica project was yet to be laid.
Like the Jica project, the fate of various other development projects also hangs in balance. Work for construction of an art gallery near the city’s town hall is yet to begin.
The Rs 65-lakh art gallery project is still stuck at tendering stage.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the gallery on the occasion of Local Self-Governance Day on August 31 last year.
“The tender process for construction of the art gallery has been cancelled twice, which has delayed the project’s take off,” said the corporation’s executive engineer Ashok Parida.
Sources said that lack of coordination among various government departments and paucity of funds delayed major development projects, such as construction of a second foot-overbridge at Madhupatna.
Though the foundation stone for the foot-overbridge was laid in 2009, its construction is yet to start.
“The foot-overbridge at Badambadi was completed three years after its initial deadline. The corporation is not making any effort to build the foot-overbridge, which would help ease traffic congestion at Madhupatna,” said Sushanta Mandal, a local resident.
The ambitious project of beautification of Ring Road is also running behind schedule.
Work for construction of a vending zone at Jobra also lies incomplete. The foundation stone for the vending zone project was laid in 2010. But as of now, only construction of the base of the vending zone has been completed.
“Over 80 per cent work for beautification of the Ring Road has been completed. The remaining work will be completed in the next couple of months,” said Parida, adding that efforts were being made to complete the other projects, including construction of the second foot-overbridge at Madhupatna, at the earliest.