Cuttack: The local civic body's ambitious art gallery project is facing uncertainty with the civic body continuing to be indecisive over its location even after more than six years.

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation had planned the art gallery in 2011 on a proposal by city-based Creative Artists' Group. Chief minister Navin Patnaik had laid the foundation stone of the project on August 31, 2011.

But the proposed project which was conceived to showcase the culture and tradition of the city as well as portray the lives of the illustrious sons of the soil, has failed to take off till date.

Civic commissioner Bikash Ranjan Mohapatra conceded to The Telegraph that the civic body had not yet chosen any site for the proposed Art gallery.

"We will soon select a site for the project," Mohapatra said.

The Creative Artists' Group is irked as the project made no progress even after more than six years. "The art gallery project is a classic case of civic body's indifference to public cause," said joint secretary of Creative Artists' Group Shasikant Rout.

The foundation stone was laid for the art gallery's building on a patch of 2400sqft adjacent to the municipal corporation's kalyan mandap in front of Saheed Bhavan.

When the artists' group complained that the plot would be too small for the project, it was assured that the gallery would be a two-storey structure.

But after the project languished for years, the civic body last year explored the option of a land near Odisha Maritime Museum at Jobra or on top of the Town Hall to locate the art gallery.

As locating the project near the maritime museum involved transfer of land, the civic body decided in favour of Town Hall which was under its possession.

Official sources said the art gallery was decided to be set up at the Town Hall as about 6000sqft area was available there.

But, no headway could be made as the engineering division later raised objections to the plan, citing safety of the building that is more than a century old.

The municipal corporation had restored the Town Hall with new toilet blocks and a green room along with renovated wall and roof panelling for better acoustic provisions.

Initially, the art gallery was estimated to be set up by spending Rs 90 lakh.

However, delay in implementation of the project has escalated the project cost to more than Rs 1 crore.

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation has allocated just Rs 10 lakh for the purpose in its budget for the 2018-19 financial year.