Cuttack, May 15: The Odisha Building and Other Constructions Workers' Welfare Board will construct a residential colony in the city to provide cheap accommodation to construction workers.

The colony will come up under the state's rental housing project for construction workers who are forced to put up under deplorable conditions without access to basic amenities.

While the board will fund the project, the housing and urban development department will implement it under the Odisha Urban Housing Mission.

"In the first phase, a residential colony to provide accommodation to 100 construction workers will come up for an estimated Rs 3.5 crore. We plan to complete the colony project by the end of 2018," board chairman Subash Singh told The Telegraph today.

"We have already begun the process and identified a 9,000sqft plot at Sector VII of the Bidanasi housing project area developed by the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA)," he said.

The Cuttack division of the state public works department's roads and buildings wing will execute the project.

A labour department official said the four-storey buildings would come with basic necessities, such as drinking water, sanitation, electricity, connectivity and other amenities, at an affordable rent.

There will be separate facilities for single men, single women and families. Dormitories will be built for single men and women, while individual rooms with kitchen and bathroom will be allotted to workers who want to stay with their families.

When contacted, roads and buildings (Cuttack division) executive engineer Surya Narayan Mishra said: "Tenders for construction of the residential colony for construction workers has already been floated. Interested parties are expected to respond by the end of this month."

CDA secretary Kabindra Kumar Sahu said: "We have received a communication from the Cuttack Municipal Corporation for allotment of a 9,000sqft land. But, we have not begun the allotment as we are yet to receive an application for the land."

Board chairman Singh said after Bhubaneswar, the state has selected Cuttack and three other municipal corporations, Berhampur, Rour-kela and Sambalpur, for the housing projects for construction workers. Five other municipalities, Jharsuguda, Angul, Dhenk-anal, Vyasanagar and Paradip, have also been selected.<> While three rental housing projects have been planned for construction workers in Bhubaneswar, the other selected urban centres will have two each. in the towns and citiesin different parts of these urban centres and live in very unhygienic conditions," he said.